


The Tangled Web

by AsagiStilinski



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017), Teen Wolf (TV), Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters (Anime & Manga), Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Aged-Up Otabek Altin, Aged-Up Yuri Plisetsky, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Dragons, Alternate Universe - Fae, Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, Alternate Universe - Vampire, Alternate Universe - Witchcraft, Alternate Universe - Yakuza, Angry Yuri Plisetsky, Cameos, Cat Yuri Plisetsky, Character's Name Spelled as Viktor, Character's Name Spelled as Yuri, Clubbing, Detective Jughead Jones, Dragons, Eventual Otabek Altin/Yuri Plisetsky, F/F, Fae & Fairies, Fairy Victor Nikiforov, Good Friend Jounouchi Katsuya | Joey Wheeler, M/M, Magical Stiles Stilinski, Mechanic Derek Hale, Mechanics, Minor Cheryl Blossom/Toni Topaz, Minor Jounouchi Katsuya | Joey Wheeler/Mutou Yuugi, Minor Mila Babicheva/Sara Crispino, Mpreg, Multi, Mystery, Other Fandoms Not Mentioned in Tags, Other Ships Not Mentioned in Tags, Phichit Chulanont & Katsuki Yuuri Are Best Friends, Phoenixes, Pining Victor Nikiforov, Polyamory, Possessive Kaiba Seto, Private Investigator Stiles Stilinski, Private Investigators, Protective Toni Topaz, Raven Stiles Stilinski, Siren Katsuki Yuuri, Sirens, Supernatural Elements, Toni Topaz is a Good Friend, Vampires, Victor Nikiforov Is In Love, Werewolf Jughead Jones, Werewolf Phichit Chulanont, Werewolves, Witch Veronica Lodge, Witchcraft, Witches, Yakuza, Yakuza Katsuki Yuuri, bdsm club, lots and lots of cameos, mentions of polyamory, neko, other characters not mentioned in tags
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-20
Updated: 2020-06-20
Packaged: 2021-03-04 06:41:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 26,073
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24819313
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AsagiStilinski/pseuds/AsagiStilinski
Summary: Yuri Plisetsky and the other nekos in his pride have finally managed to open their BDSM club, for most normal people that would be enough to deal with, but because the world is never kind enough to let Yuri have anormallife, it also had to throw in yakuza, museum robberies, a potential murder plot, and a guy Yuri is madly in love with at first sight who he can never seem to get longer than five minutes alone with....All that in the firstweekGee, what must week two be like?
Relationships: Atem/Kaiba Seto, Bakura Ryou/Yami Bakura, Cheryl Blossom/Toni Topaz, Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski, Jounouchi Katsuya | Joey Wheeler/Mutou Yuugi, Katsuki Yuuri/Victor Nikiforov, Mila Babicheva/Sara Crispino, Otabek Altin/Yuri Plisetsky
Kudos: 6





	The Tangled Web

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Taedae](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Taedae/gifts).



> Happy birthday Taedae!!! Thank you so much for being such a fantastic freind, I hope your birthday as as wonderfull as you deserve <3
> 
> I just wish I'd been able to find a place to plug some Harry Potter cameos, I tried but alas... xD

"Here they are! What do you think?"

"I think they're boring," Yura answered flatly, his expression just as bland and unamused as his tone

"Well I think they look lovely," Ryou commented pleasantly

"You would," Yura grumbled back, eyes slightly narrowed, not in aggression, just mild annoyance

"Well I think they're nice too," Toni asserted with a roll of her eyes

"I do have one question though Mila, how do we ensure no human gets ahold of this?"

The cat-like grin that spread across Mila's face almost would have looked out of place if not for the fact that she literally _was_ part cat

"That's the brilliance of it, I had a witch charm them to sense the presence of supernatural DNA, when one of us is touching the card, you get our information, but if a human touches it, it'll appear blank,"

"Oh that's marvelous!" Ryou exclaimed

Yura had to admit, that _was_ pretty brilliant.... he just wouldn't say it out loud

"The only real problem is that since this is an exclusive club, we'll have to recruit our customers, atleast in the beginning,"

"I'm sure we can manage," Toni smirked, ears twitching atop her head

Ofcourse she _would_ say that, she and Mila were easily the most social of the pride

Yura and Ryou on the other hand....

"I'm sure we can scrape up a few people," Ryou smiled again

Yura just hoped he wouldn't have to do much of the inviting himself...

~+~

"Oooh is the club finally opening?"

"It is, this Saturday," Ryou nodded, watching in delight as his freind examined the card under the light

"Well you can count me in, you know I've been waiting for ages,"

"I do, thank you again for your support Yugi,"

The game shop owner shook his head, expression warm

"Believe me, the pleasure will be all mine,"

~+~

"A BDSM club? Are you serious Marik?"

Eyebrows raised, Derek turned away from the bike he was working on, looking up at the blonde in front of him

"Yeah, supernaturals only, Toni and her family are running it, she just gave me a bunch of business cards, you in?"

Derek pursed his lips, having to seriously consider that offer

"I'm in,"

Turning to his other side, the werewolf's attention flickered to the brunette who had just approached them

" _You_ Beka?"

Otabek shrugged, looking rather non-plussed all things considered

"Why not?"

"I guess I just never thought you'd be the type...."

Though, he didn't know why, it seemed like everyone there at the garage was queer and kinky to atleast some level

"You know I'm always up for clubbing,"

At the sound of the only female voice belonging to their shop, Derek finally decided to take a break from the bike entirely

"What about you Derek?"

"I'm still not sure,"

"Oh come on, it'll be fun," Marik encouraged, patting the werewolf on the back

And although a large part of him wanted to say "no"....

"...Fine, I guess it couldn't hurt,"

"Not unless you want it to," Marik winked, forcing Derek to roll his eyes and already regret his life choices- if only for the puns alone

Some days he speculated his insistent werewolfian need to social-bond due to not having a pack would be the death of him...

Today he was _sure_ of it

~+~

"Oh your club is about to open? Well you can count on us to be some of the first people at the door,"

"Thanks Ronnie," Mila smiled with mild releif

"Do you think you'll bring the entire coven?"

"Sure, I bet they'll have a great time,"

Before anything else could be said, another brunette claimed Mila's attention

"Veronica, Yuri just called, he might be running a little late on Friday night,"

"Oh that's fine Sara, thanks," Veronica waved, watching Mila's expression as the red-head watched Sara leave, heading back into the backroom

"Our newest member, you sure seem interested... want me to give her your number?"

A small smirk curled across Mila's face, her tail flicking as she turned her attention back to Veronica

"Thanks, but I'd rather talk to her myself, you think she'll be coming to the club on Saturday?"

"Well if I had to bet, I'd say the odds are in your favor," the brunette replied, crossing one leg smoothly over the other and leaning back against the bar behind her

"Speaking of new acquisitions though... did I tell you about the siren I have performing here?"

A _siren_?

"No, you most certainly didn't," Mila grinned

"He's really something else, he comes in a few times a month, usually unscheduled, wich is good as it keeps his fans coming in frequently in the hopes of catching him, everyone calls him _Eros_ ,"

" _Eros_? Mm, that sounds like something that belongs at _our_ club more than your's," Mila chuckled

"I was just thinking the _exact_ same thing, if I can get him to perform for your opening night, would you be interested?"

"About as interested as I am in your maple rum,"

"Sounds like I'll be giving you quite the set-up then,"

"Sounds like it," Mila agreed, heaving a quiet sigh moments later

"I wish I could stay longer, _really_ I do, but I have atleast three more stops to make today,"

"Don't worry about it, ask Pop upstairs to give you a chocolate shake on me, ok?"

"You're an angel Ronnie," Mila winked, earning a breif laugh from her freind

"Not exactly how my enemies would describe me but whatever you say,"

With a kiss blown goodbye, Mila headed out of the night club and back upstairs to the diner above it, only to crash into a rather tall blonde

"Yeesh! Sorry 'bout that!" he said quickly

"Oh no it's ok, I wasn't looking," she promised, hurrying off to the counter to order her milkshake, she didn't have alot of time for lingering if she was going to get to her other stops before the end of the day after all

"Jo! You coming or what!?"

The blonde turned to the door, huffing and bending down to grab the bag of food he had dropped, only then noticing the small pile of business cards laying next to it

Had the red-head dropped them..?

He picked up one of the plain black cards, eyebrows raising as gold writing started to appear across it, like _magic_ , was she a witch, or-?

"Jo!! C'mon man! I need my curly fries!!"

Fucking....

Huffing, he grabbed the cards along with the food and hurried out of the diner, thrusting the bag of food at his freind as he headed out to the blue jeep in the parkinglot

" _Thank you_ ," the brunette grinned, digging into the bag for a handfull of curly fries as he sauntered to the driver's side

"Yeah yeah, let's just hurry up an' go, ya' know Jug's gonna have a fit if we leave 'im without food too much longer," Joey noted as he climbed into the passenger's side of the jeep

"I can identify with that," the brunette shrugged, stepping into the driver's side of the jeep and finally noticing the card in his freind's hand

"What's that?"

"Not sure yet... some kinda witch thing I think..."

"Ohhh, my area of expertise, gimme,"

Yanking the card away with his free hand, the driver's brows shot up with surprise

"Well unless the 'witch thing' is a BDSM club..."

"What? You're yankin' my chain,"

"Nope, definitely not, trust me, I have experience with this sorta thing,"

Joey rolled his eyes and took the card back as the car started, staring down at it again

"Yeah, you _would_ Stiles,"

Still though, he couldn't help being curious.....

A BDSM club huh? That might just be fun....

~+~

"I dunno V..."

_"Come on Betty, you can take a break from being an ace reporter for **one night** ,"_

_"Agreed Cousin, all work and no play makes you a **miserable** coven-mate,"_

Sighing, the blonde leaned back in her office chair and rolled the idea over in her head

"Well... I guess one night couldn't hurt..."

_"Not unless you want it to~"_

"Thanks for that Cheryl," Betty huffed, eyes rolling, only to receive a chipper _"You're welcome~"_ in response

Deciding it would be best to make a note for herself, Betty grabbed the nearest sheet of papper to scribble the club info down on, only then noticing the clock

"Damn... I'm late for a meeting, I'll talk to you guys later," she said quickly, receiving a few "see you later"s and "goodbye"s from her covenmates over video before ending the video and hurriedly gathering the pappers on her desk and rushing out of her chair, if she didn't get to the meeting with that CEO soon...

Unfortunately fate had other plans in mind, given that she was barely out of her office before crashing into someone else

"Oh!! Kara I'm so sorry!!"

"N-No no, really, it's my fault, I wasn't looking where I was going," the other blonde promised quickly, adjusting her glasses as she started gathering up the files that she had dropped

"I wasn't either, I'm just in such a hurry," Betty insisted, grabbing her own fallen pappers

"So am I honestly, it's really ok,"

With a mutual nod of understanding, the two parted ways, Betty on her way downstairs to catch a meeting, and Kara....

"Here are those files you needed Detective Morningstar,"

With a charming smile, the brunette took the stack of pappers and started to glance through them

"Why thank you Miss Danvers-"

 _Club Millennium_...?

"Ah... I believe one of your pappers was mixed in by mistake though," he noted, staring down at the address and date on the hastily scribbled note

He would have to remember to Google that, he always liked keeping up with the latest clubs in the area after all

"Huh? Oh that-.... isn't mine...." Kara said slowly, pursing her lips

"I must have gotten Betty's by mistake..."

"No worries, everything else seems to be in order," the detective noted, handing the note back to the confused blonde

"I suppose this was just a little gift from the universe then,"

"You mean like a gift from above?" she asked with a slight chuckle

"Mmm... more like a gift from _below_ , but you've got the right idea,"

The blonde seemed a little puzzled by that, so he didn't push, only wishing her a quick but still charming farewell before heading downstairs, pulling his phone out in the process to start looking up this _Club Millennium_

"That certainly took long enough,"

He didn't even acknowledge the other detective at the moment, too honed in on the task at hand, yet Google didn't seem to have any results for him....

Hm...

"There was a bit of a delay, and there's about to be another one,"

"Oh what now?" his partner sighed

"Nothing to get so worked up over, tell me something Killian, how do you feel about clubbing?"

~+~

"You're performing at a BDSM club?"

Face turning red, the siren groaned and shifted on his feet

"A little louder Phich, I don't think the customers in the back heard you,"

Phichit only laughed, looking completely delighted

"Wow Yuri, I didn't know you had it in you! I mean, not publicly anyway,"

Yuri was suddenly regretting telling his best freind the news

"I'm just singing, I'm not actually participating," Yuri promised with a sigh, stepping over to the box of herbs he had been unpacking before he took Veronica's phone call

Though he wouldn't _mind_ actually participating, just... maybe not in front of an audience..... yet....

"Still, that's pretty awesome, I'm definitely gonna be there,"

"You kinda _have_ to be there," Yuri mumbled back, face still red

"You know what I mean! In a 'freinds supporting freinds and also getting kinky with it' sorta way, not the 'bodyguard' sorta way,"

"I'm coming too,"

Yuri stood up straight, turning quickly to stare at the other man who had joined them

"Atem you really don't-"

"Have to? I _want_ to, I hope you haven't been under the impression all this time that I'm vanilla," the other man chuckled warmly

"Oh believe me, I don't think _anybody_ is under _that_ impression considering what you want to get peirced next," Phichit laughed

Yuri, meanwile, was only glad there weren't any customers around to hear all of this, for once he was glad it was a slow day

He wasn't sure _why_ it was slow though, their resident psychic had a fully booked day...

"Well wile you two continue to openly discuss your personal lives, I'm going out to get some herbs, we're out of Lemon Balm," Yuri noted, laying the pre-packaged packs of Rosemary on the counter for Phichit to put out

It was times like these that he was really relieved they'd decided to put an herb garden out back, sometimes their shipments of pre-packaged herbs just couldn't keep up with customer demand and they took to packing their own in the interim, it wasn't something he had thought would pay off much in the beginning but now he was definitely glad they had done it

He heard Atem and Phichit giggling behind him as he walked and was even _more_ glad he had the garden- it gave him an excuse to leave from time to time and cool off

Sighing, he grabbed his iPod and earbuds, turning on whatever was on his playlist first before picking up his gloves, bags, and gardening scissors, singing along to the music as he stepped outside

_"Ooh I'm a lion, I'm a queen,"_

~+~

Viktor sighed quietly as he walked, glancing down at his wrist watch

He was running late, but he couldn't quite bring himself to care

He had no interest in today's meeting, he had no interest in much of anything lately if he was being completely honest

He felt so empty lately, so completely... _drained_...

It was as if he had had an encounter with a dementor or something, like there was nothing left but an empty void where emotions had once existed, and he didn't know how to change it

All he seemed to live for anymore was the job, and once upon a time that had been enough, but now...

_"Oh my god, she took me to the sky,"_

Viktor froze on the spot, his heart jumping in his chest, he felt as though he had just experienced an electric jolt of _life_ flowing through his veins

He felt more alive in those few seconds than he had felt in _years_

_"Oh my god, she showed me all the stars,"_

That voice....

That voice was so _beautifull_

Magnificent, enthralling, incredible....

He hurried towards the voice, his heart thundering in his chest as he rushed to catch the owner of the voice

The singing continued for another moment, but it was in another language, a language he didn't speak unfortunately

Japanese? Korean? He wasn't sure, he had never really listened much to music in other languages, but...

He rushed around the corner, the sound of a door closing punctuating the end of the song, and finding himself arriving a second too late

The owner of the voice was gone

He felt heart-broken, and even worse was that he didn't know wich building in the large square of businesses the voice had vanished into

He pursed his lips tightly

He felt like sobbing, the only thing that had made him feel alive in so long was just..... _gone_...

Swallowing, he prepared himself to leave, only to pause upon seeing something laying on the ground next to a small garden

A note...?

Curious, he picked it up and felt his heart leap with excitement

_Club Millennium, Saturday, 12_

Was this left by the owner of the voice?

Maybe not, but... maybe so

With renewed vigor, he held the note close to his chest and started hurrying back to the office

He needed to find this "Club Millennium"- and he needed to find it _now_

~+~

"We're going clubbing!!"

Viktor realized a bit belatedly that perhaps he should have been a _little_ quieter with that revelation upon bursting into his partner's office

Blue eyes narrowed as the CEO in front of him exhaled, clearly displeased with the outburst

"Thanks for interrupting an adult conversation with that," he grumbled

But Viktor wasn't remotely detoured

"Seto you won't believe what just happened-!"

"Your important meeting was interrupted?" Seto guessed, still unamused as he gestured to the chair next to him

But Viktor wasn't about to submit just yet

"I heard the voice of an angel and he's going to be singing at a club on Saturday night! Seto we _have_ to go!"

"We'll discuss it later," Seto growled, his irritation growing, wich only made Viktor even more frustrated in turn, but before this fizzling Molotov cocktail could go off between them, something rather unexpected happened

"The voice of an angel you say?"

Viktor turned his attention to the other man in the room, a white-haired, grey-eyed stranger who he hadn't even noticed before

"Tell me, was this a man's voice you heard?"

"Yes!" Viktor beamed, eyes lighting up excitedly

"Lightly accented?"

"Ah.. I'm not sure, he mostly was speaking another language..."

The man's smirk only grew, a low chuckle coming from his throat as he crossed his arms over his chest and turned his attention back to Seto

"As it so happens, what little information I have on the pharaoh includes the fact that he's a lounge singer, this sounds like a promising lead, what do you say then, Mr. Kaiba? Our deal still stands, track down the pharaoh for me, and you have my allegiance,"

Seto smirked, clearly feeling a little less irritated now that he knew his meeting wasn't entirely ruined

"If that's all it takes, then it'll be my pleasure, Bakura,"

~+~

"Goddammit... where the fuck is Mila!?"

"She's been talking to Sara all evening, they're by the door,"

Yura felt his blood practically boil, irritation climbing up into full on anger, wich was hardly uncommon, but still

"Fucking.... Mila was the one who said in the beginning that we had to be mindfull of working even when we socialize!"

"I'm sure she's working wile they talk," Ryou smiled back, clearly trying to placate him

Yura wasn't nearly as sure though, they had hired someone to watch the door for the exact reason of wanting to be more free themselves to actually take care of the club's needs, not to mention the customers, and _yet_...

Wile Mila was relentlessly flirting with the cute witch who had come in right after they opened, he and Ryou hadn't gotten the chance to get away from the customers who kept seeming to constantly need one thing or another

"She should be here to feild some of this," he grumbled irritably, ears twitching at the sound of someone else approaching and quickly turning on his heel, glaring at the brunette behind him, who seemed a little startled by his reaction

"Um... hi, I'm the singer who's suppo-"

"Right, yeah, the siren, and?" Yura snipped, watching out of the corner of his eye as Ryou was sucked into a conversation of his own

"Well there's been an emergency I'm afraid, I have to leave, I'm sorry, but I promise I'll come back and perform next week," he said quickly, bowing deeply in apology

"And where are we supposed to get a replacement!?"

"Actually I have that covered," he squeaked, standing up more evenly and rubbing his arm

"I have a freind here who's also a singer, he's not a siren but he's pretty good, he's volunteered to take my position, he's the one with the three-toned spiky hair in the black dress,"

Yura snarled lowly, eyes narrowing, but before he could get out a retort-

"I'm sorry but I really have to go,"

And just like that, the guy was gone, leaving Yura to boil in private

By this point he was thoroughly _done_ with socializing and hurried over to Ryou, tapping his shoulder

"Hey, I'm taking a break, if you need me I'll be at the bar.... _don't_ need me,"

Ryou only smiled, non-plussed by his pride-mate's attitude

"Have a nice break," he replied pleasantly as Yura took off through the crowd, before turning back to the outstandingly tall brunette in front of him

"Eros," he said simply

"I only heard Mila referring to him as Eros, I'm afraid I don't know if he goes by anything else, we've never met,"

"Hm... thanks," the brunette replied briskly, turning on his heel to speak with the equally tall silver-haired man behind him

Ryou only exhaled, relieved that he had settled that without needing to say anything more

The brunette was intimidating and sharp, he didn't deal very well with those kinds of people

...Come to think of it, this guy and Yura would probably be a match made in.. well.... _hell_ honestly

And speaking of Yura....

"Toni, hit me with the catnip!"

"You know we don't do that here Yura," his pride-mate replied with an eye-roll

Yeah he knew, he had been front row and center for the "No intoxicants" policy discussion, they only allowed alcohol because most supernaturals couldn't actually get drunk off of it and even then there was a limit, but that didn't mean Yura wasn't still craving a little of the green stuff...

And he had sort of been hoping Toni had smuggled some in, but apparently if she had, she wasn't willing to share

"Rough night?"

Turning to the guy on the stool next to him, Yura was a little bit overcome by just how gorgeous he was

Dark hair in an undercut, square jawed and muscular, wearing a leather jacket....

He was _exactly_ Yura's type

"Yeah, my pride-mates were supposed to take care of the social aspect of this shit but Mila ran off with some Italian chick so I've had to take over some of it myself,"

"Mm... I understand that, see the blonde with the crop-top and gold earrings over there? Grinding on the redhead in the letterman jacket?"

Craning his neck, Yura did indeed see a bronze-skinned blonde in a crop-top and gold earrings grinding on some ginger football player wannabe

"Yeah?"

"Spent a month last year convincing me to go to a costume party for Halloween, we got there and not ten minutes later I'd lost him to the first sexy mobster he saw,"

"Sorry but that story's kinda hilarious," Yura snickered, though he definitely could relate, it wasn't so bad with Toni and Ryou never ditched him when they went out together, but Mila?

She'd probably hand him over to the exotic pet trade if it meant sinking her claws into something hot and willing

Maybe he was exaggerating, but also- hear him out here- maybe he wasn't

"So who is he anyway? Your boyfreind?"

"Would I be at a BDSM club if I had a boyfreind?" the stranger teased

"Um, yeah? There are shit tons of couples who come here ya' know, it isn't like a hook-up spot,"

Oh, the sexy brunette actually seemed legitimately surprised by that

"......Oh,"

Yura really wanted to laugh.... but he also wanted half a chance of waking up with this guy in the morning with an aching ass, a foggy brain, and ruined clothes, so he would refrain from now

"Let me guess, first time?" he assumed, eyes flicking down to the guy's wrists

Lydia, the door manager, gave out color coded wristbands to the customers indicating if they were a dom, sub, or switch, and he was really hoping to see the pretty crimson of a dom wristband decorating Hottie McLeather Daddy's wrist but... alas, his jacket sleeves were covering both wrists too well for him to see anything

"Well yeah.... didn't this place just open tonight?"

Oh wow he seemed so legitimately confused that Yura had to actually bite his tongue to swallow the laugh this time

"...I meant at _any_ kink club,"

"...Oh.... that obvious huh?"

"Just a little,"

Pretty Leather Fuck-Me-Daddy turned a bit pink, shifting a little and just making Yura all the more interested in him

"Admittedly I do tend to meet my partners through more traditional means before we get to the kinky part yes,"

"That's ok, nothing wrong with being more traditional, but you know, my pride and I own this place so we're all pretty well versed in the kinky side of life, so... if you need anything... don't hesitate to let me know," Yura promised, even adding a bit of an eyelash-bat to the end of that proposition

"Actually, there is something I'm wondering,"

"Oh?" Yura asked eagerly

"Yeah, aren't a group of cats technically called a clowder? Why call yourselves a pride?"

.......................Really?

 _Really_!?!

 _THAT_ was his question?!?

"Yeah but that's for housecats, and my pride isn't just a bunch of tame little housecats, ok? We're strong and proud and feirce like tigers!"

"But.. then.... wouldn't you call yourselves a streak or an ambush? ..I thought 'pride' was exclusive to lions..."

"We're strong and feice like lions too," Yura replied flatly

"How do you even know all of this shit anyway?"

"One of my sisters is a zoologist,"

...Oh

...Well, that certainly explained some things

"Zoologist huh? That's a pretty cool job, what do you do? Something equally as cool?"

"Actually I'm a mechanic, so... no, not nearly,"

"Pft, seriously? Mechanics are TOTALLY cool!"

"You think so?" the brunette asked, his lips ticking slightly into a smile

"Yeah definitely!! Do you work in a chain place or...?"

"Actually I co-own my own garage with my partners,"

Ok, so scratching the weird cat question, this guy was back on to being pretty cool

"Yeah? Is Blondie one of those partners?"

"Mm, actually, all of us came to check this place out, so all three of my partners are here,"

"Really? Cool, I never expected this place to be a business retreat for anybody,"

The brunette gave just the slightest wisp of a chuckle, and Yura felt like his entire world turned technicolor

"Well, it's not really like we discuss our sex lives with eachother or anything, but... one thing tends to lead to another when you work with the same small group of people all day every day, we all know eachother well enough now to be more aware of eachother's.... _proclivities_...."

"Oh yeah? And... what's _your_ proclivity then?"

The brunette smiled, wich was probably the most charming thing Yura had ever seen, and leaned his head against his hand

"I have quite a few proclivities actually, but.... I _do_ prefer to be the one in control,"

"Oh yeah?" Yura purred, his tail flicking

"Mm... and I love to spoil my partners,"

 _Spoil_?

Oh, that _definitely_ peaked Yura's interest

"And to indulge them in whatever they-"

"Beka!!!"

Yura cursed under his breath at the interruption, turning around with annoyance as the blonde "Beka" had pointed out to him earlier rushed towards them

"Marik? What-?"

"We have to go, there's an issue at the museum,"

The brunette's face paled as he hurried to his feet

"Is Aiday alright?"

"She was nocked out apparently, Ishizu wasn't exactly forthcoming with the details,"

The brunette nodded quickly, turning to Yura

"I'm sorry, I'll be back tommorrow, we can talk then, but my sister-"

"No it's fine, it's.. it's alright, you've clearly got an emergency, please go, I hope your sister is alright,"

"Thank you," the other man breathed, before rushing out of the club with the blonde

Yura sighed lowly, slumping against the counter in disappointment

He hoped his new freind's sister was alright....

But it was awfully strange now that he thought about it, hadn't the siren run off with a sudden emergency too...?

~+~

"Sister!! Are you alright!? What happened!?"

"I'm fine Marik, it was just a robbery, as I said on the phone,"

Marik wasn't necessarily satisfied with that answer, but he knew that getting more out of his sister, atleast right now, was unlikely

"Where's Aiday?" Otabek asked immediately

"In the backroom resting, she just woke up,"

The brunette didn't hesitate before rushing off and leaving the Ishtar siblings alone in the middle of the lobby

"What was stolen?" Marik asked, arms crossing over his chest

"An ancient tablet from the Egyptian section, I hadn't finished translating it yet but from what I could tell upon first glance it seemed to be a summoning tablet,"

"Summoning? As in... demon summoning?"

"I can't be sure without a full translation, but that's what it looked like,"

Marik cursed, his hands dropping to rest on his hips as he stared down at the floor

"That can't be good... have you called the police?"

"I'm not involving the police, this needs to be handled with a delicacy that even our police department lacks,"

Marik's nose wrinkled, he wasn't exactly the biggest fan of cops honestly, but even he knew that in a situation like this, they couldn't just track down the theif and get the tablet back themselves, it wasn't like they lead some secret crime organization or anything, and the supernatural police were worlds better than human police, so why was Ishizu hesitating?

"What is it about this tablet that you're not telling me, dear sister?"

"I don't know what you're talking about,"

Marik didn't believe that for a second, and yet--

"We looked everywhere, whoever did this is a professional, they used scent blockers,"

Glancing up, Marik looked over his sister's shoulder and snarled, his expression turning instantly from concern to anger

"You called the _yakuza_!?"

"I trust them,"

" _WHY?!_ "

"Marik please, you're being rude, the Katsuki clan has been freinds to us since we came to this country, they've _earned_ my trust, especially in handling delicate matters,"

And yet somehow, Marik wasn't convinced

The oyabun was polite as always though, bowing to the blonde in respect before rising up again

"Please, Mr. Ishtar, allow the Katsuki clan to prove ourselves to you by retreiving your sister's stolen tablet, I'd like us to be freinds,"

"I don't exactly have a choice in the matter," Marik grumbled, but that seemed to be enough for Katsuki, who turned his attention back to Ishizu, despite his bodyguard seemingly staying focused on Marik

"Phichit has been all over this place and can't pick up a scent, it's no wonder you called us in,"

"Yes, with all due respect Katsuki-San, if all this investigation required was a strong nose, I could have handled it myself,"

"Understood, if you would allow it, I have some connections that could be of use to this investigation, they aren't formally part of my clan but I do operate with them as allies quite often,"

Ishizu tensed over that for a moment, her expression uncertain

"You do understand, Katsuki-San, that the less people involved in this, the better? The tablet is more than just valuable, it's also potentially quite dangerous, and in the wrong hands.... I would fear what could happen,"

"I understand Miss Ishtar, you have my word, I'll have no one involved with this who I wouldn't readily trust with my own life,"

"If I may," Phichit chimed, his attention turning to Ishizu

"If the tablet is so dangerous, why keep it in an open space like a museum? Why not lock it away or even destroy it?"

"As I was explaining to my brother, I haven't yet translated the entire tablet, only bits and peices upon first glance, it would be irresponsible of me to take _any_ action regarding the tablet without knowing the full extent of it's power,"

"But why acquire it for a museum in the first place?"

"It was actually donated here by the daughter of a private collector, he passed away earlier this year and she's been kind enough to distribute the collection across several different museums,"

"Ah, I see... thank you for being candid Miss Ishtar, we'll be back in the morning with our team, but for now we have to go pick up a freind, please give Aiday my best," the oyabun said with one more bow before nodding for his bodyguard to follow and heading out of the museum

"I don't like this Yuri," Phichit muttered as they walked, making sure they were out of earshot before speaking

"I don't either, something doesn't feel right, but I can't figure out what it is... I think we should do our _own_ investigation,"

"Ooh fun," Phichit grinned, eyes practically sparkling

"So this is less Yakuza Time and more Detective Time?"

"A little bit, but don't get too carried away, we want them to think we're unquestioningly on their side,"

"Gottcha," Phichit nodded quickly, looping his arm through Yuri's as they stepped outside

"Good, now let's get back to the club and pick up Atem, we're going to have an early morning tommorrow and we'll need him to cover the shop for us,"

Phichit nodded, a satisfied smirk on his face

"Roger that,"

~+~

Seto hadn't believed Viktor when he went on and on about how magnetic that stranger's voice was, he had thought Viktor was exaggerating- wich was certainly something he tended to do from time to time

But evidently not

_"He's so tall and handsome as hell, he's so bad but he does it so well, I can see the end as it begins, my one condition is..."_

The man on stage is.... _unbelievable_

Darkly tanned skin, brilliant garnet eyes, with wild red and blonde and black hair, and his voice....

It was so smooth and deep and _pure_...

_"Say you'll remember me, standing in a nice dress, staring at the sunset, red lips and rosy cheeks, say you'll see me again, even if it's just in your wildest dreams,"_

Oh that was a promise Seto could make alright

He would be seeing this man in his dreams for the rest of the foreseeable future

"You may want to pick your jaw up from the floor,"

Startling, he hurried to turn around and glare at Viktor, who seemed to be a strange mixture of sour disappointment and haughty amusement

"What? Isn't this your dream guy?"

"No," Viktor replied with a heavy sigh, his shoulders sagging

"This isn't him, not even close,"

"Mm... well, the note you found never said he was performing here, maybe he's not a singer at all, you should go look for him,"

Viktor's eyebrows raised, mouth slightly open, but he wasn't going to question a good thing, so he hurried off, leaving Seto to his staring, and began his journey to hunt down the incredible voice he had fallen in love with

~+~

Ryou was never much of a social person, even on the best days, and this day in particular had been rather stressfull

He supposed that was to be expected of an opening night though

Sighing softly, he slipped out of the club and took in a few deep breaths

After Yura's break and snapping Mila back into shape, he was finally allowed to have a break of his own, but rather than flirting or drinking, Ryou's idea of taking a break was to step outside for some fresh air and time alone

The wind was a bit cool, but that was alright, it was hot inside the club, even with the air conditioning on... or perhaps he was just hot from all the exercise he had been getting going back and forth between people all night...

Either way, he was happy for the air, it felt nice and refreshing against his warm skin

Taking a long, deep breath, he took in the various scents of the surrounding area, from the leftover exhaust from the parkinglot to the pine of nearby trees and just the slightest hint of rain in the air...

It was nice, incredibly nice...

He found himself wandering towards the woods, happy to spend some time in nature away from the constant stimulation of the club

The alarm on his phone was set to go off in fifteen minutes when his break ended, so he would be fine going for a short walk, and if he was gone for an extra minute or two.....

Well, Mila had been gone half the night so he wouldn't feel _that_ bad about it

(Actually he probably would but he liked to think he wouldn't)

The woods were so peacefully quiet, the chirping of crickets was pleasant to his ears, and he could actually start to relax out here....

Until he was startled by the sound of a twig snapping

Jumping, he spun around, heart pounding in his chest as he turned his attention to the stranger across from him

He actually... looked somewhat like Ryou, the same long white hair, the same height and build, his face was a little more angular and his eyes were a bit darker, but otherwise, there was a bit of a striking similarity

"Sorry," he said reflexively, though he wasn't actually quite sure what he was apologizing for

"I... I didn't know anyone else was out here,"

"No no, it's quite alright," the stranger replied, his voice a bit thicker, a little deeper, than Ryou's

"I do wonder though, what's a little kitten doing out here all on his own so late at night?"

Ryou swallowed, his heart racing as the stranger began walking towards him

He couldn't pinpoint what it was, but there was something about him that had Ryou set on alert, something that put him on edge, and yet...

Yet he couldn't quite stay away either

Just as much as something was ringing alarm bells in his head, there was also something drawing him closer to the stranger, and Ryou wasn't sure how to process that- not to mention how to stop it

"I'm just getting some fresh air, it's... a little suffocating at times, in the club,"

"Club?" the stranger echoed, eyebrows raised

"I admit, I'm surprised to hear a little thing like yourself is much of a clubber, you seem too.... _shy_ ,"

Ryou was almost certain that there was something else hanging on the other man's tongue to describe him, "shy" was the polite version

"Actually my pride-mates and I own it,"

"Oh, I see," the stranger practically purred, head tilting as he finally stopped a mere three or four feet in front of Ryou

"Well, I would love to hear more about this club you own, if you wouldn't mind accompanying me for a walk?"

A walk with a stranger in the middle of the night.....

Well, Ryou _had_ been planning to just go for a walk by himself, would this really be so different...?

"Sure," he decided a beat later

"It would be my pleasure,"

~+~

When Viktor slid onto the barstool, he felt completely defeated, wich wasn't something he was used to feeling

Viktor was a rather successfull person, he had alot of accolades attached to his name, and for good reason at that

He wasn't used to failure, but that was what he had been facing all night

"Are you ok?"

Lifting his head up, he glanced over his shoulder at the man next to him

The rather beautifull man...

He had dark brown eyes and raven black hair, slicked back and highlighting the lovely shape of his face, blue-framed glasses settled over the bridge of his nose, and looking somewhat adorably mismatched in the seductive black and red cocktail dress, high heels... and formal suit jacket

The jacket didn't look like it was ill fitting at all, so Viktor had some doubts that he was just wearing his partner's jacket wile said partner went off to do something somewhere with someone, and as strange as it was to see mixed with the cocktail dress, it seemed to suit him just fine

The stranger looked equal parts strong enough to pin Viktor down and take the life from him... and yet soft and feminine enough to gently hold Viktor close and breathe that life right back in

It was a combination that seemed as mismatched as his clothes and yet just like his outfit it seemed to suit him well and created a beautifully intoxicating appearance

"I'm fine," Viktor finally said, leaning his head on his hand and subtlety turning his body a little to face the stranger rather than the bar

"I've just had something of a rough night,"

"Oh, a rough and _pleasant_ night I'm hoping..?"

It took him a moment to remember they were in a BDSM club, a slight laugh dropping from his lips

"Ah, no such luck, you see I was actually hoping to meet someone here but I can't find him, I'm not the giving up type but I have to call it quits for the night, I don't think they'll be open much longer,"

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that... I don't suppose there's any way I could help?"

"Probably not, but it's still nice to have someone to talk to," Viktor smiled back tiredly, his heart fluttering when the pretty brunette held his hand out comfortingly for Viktor's... and he noticed the purple wristband on the stranger's wrist

Just like his own

"You're a switch?" he asked with a bit of excitement, sliding his hand into the stranger's and feeling chills of delight pebble over his skin

The stranger's skin was so nice and warm... so soft, his grip was so gentle...

Viktor was a little touch-starved, he would readily admit that, but he was fairly certain that the stranger's touch really was as magnificent as he thought it was

"I am, and you?"

Smiling a little brighter, Viktor tugged his sleeve up to show off his own purple wristband, watching the stranger's eyes light up at the revelation

"I lean sub, but I'm more than happy to dom," Viktor clarified, hoping that just maybe-

"Well it seems we're quite the match, I'm the exact opposite,"

This stranger must have been sent from Heaven, some sort of reward for trying so hard to find the angelic voice from yesterday, that was Viktor's thought on it

Unfortunately, he didn't get to indulge in the pleasure of that moment for very long, before he could even respond--

"Viktor, we're going,"

Expression falling, Viktor turned around to meet Seto's eyes, his body tense with frustration

"I'd actually rather stay,"

"We have an early day tommorrow,"

"So? I'm a professional Seto, don't you trust me enough yet to know I won't screw you over?"

As predicted, the other man's face scrunched up in annoyance, but luckily, there was something of an intervention

"Oh, Seto, is this your freind?"

Both of the blue-eyed men shifted their attention to a new arrival, the singer from earlier with the wild hair and exotic name... what was it? Agape or something? Viktor hadn't been paying much attention honestly, once he realized Cupid or whatever his name was wasn't, in fact, the man he had been looking for

"Evidently," the switch-stranger said suddenly, tightening his hold a little on Viktor's hand and turning his attention to Lovebird and another man in a suit jacket- and a sparkly red top.. interesting choice- standing beside him

"I'm going to stay here a little longer and have a drink, you guys go on home without me, or.. stay, if you'd prefer, whatever you want,"

Without a second thought, Ricky Romance strode forward and took Seto by the arm- to wich, Viktor's first thought was _"Bold move"_ \- and began tugging him away from the group

"Seto, I don't believe we finished our conversation earlier,"

And the guy was calling him _Seto_?

What had Viktor missed during his search for love?!

"You're the one who said you had to go," Seto pointed out briskly, though it was clear to Viktor that the brunette wasn't exactly opposed to going off with the stranger again

"I changed my mind," he replied simply, and that seemed to be all it took for Seto to be convinced, giving Viktor a curt "Tommorrow morning," before heading off with the singer

"....Welp, I'm gonna go find a cute sub, you guys have fun, see you later Yuri!" the man in the sparkly red top said quickly, waving before vanishing into the crowd behind him

 _"Yuri...."_ Viktor said slowly, a chill of satisfaction shivering through his veins at simply saying his new freind's name

"I'm Viktor, it's a pleasure to meet you Yuri,"

"Please, the pleasure is all mine," Yuri promised, squeezing Viktor's hand gently

"So, that tall guy... Seto? Is he your dom or...?"

"Oh! Heavens no," Viktor laughed, shaking his head quickly

"He's my boss, sort of, it's a complicated story, but... trust me, in terms of the romance department I'm completely free,"

"I'm glad to hear that," Yuri sighed with releif, his fingers skimming slowly against Viktor's as his gaze flickered up to meet the other man's

"I was really hoping to get to know you better,"

Viktor's expression warmed, heart fluttering with joy as he wrapped his free hand around Yuri's

"I would like that very much,"

~+~

Yura truly wondered if he had ever been this irritated before

At six A.M. he laid lonely and frustrated in his bed, his cat sleeping at the foot of the bed, non-plussed by his emotional distress

Yura laid alone and frustrated by his insomnia and his inability to sleep

Mila had taken her first opportunity to run off with the Italian girl

Ryou had texted them right before closing asking for permission to be late coming back, Mila had given him the rest of the night off in return for over-extending her own break earlier that night, and Ryou had promised to give them details later about his date

Toni had taken off with a pretty red-head when they were done cleaning up, evidently she was one of the girls providing their maple rum and had stuck around until the club closed up just because she wanted to spend the night with Toni

And that left Yura, alone and annoyed, and wondering why the hot brunette from earlier in the evening had been forced by fate to leave

Why couldn't he have a fairytale romance too?

Why couldn't he have fallen asleep aching and exhausted with a warm body beneath him and woken up happy and sore and satisfied in the morning like he knew his packmates would?

He grabbed his pillow and hugged it, heart throbbing as he tried again to force himself to sleep

He doubted it would happen though

~+~

Stiles was positively going to _kill_ whoever was calling him at nine in the morning

Didn't they have any respect for the fact that he had just fallen asleep four hours ago?

Didn't they realize that he had spent the seven hours prior meeting, getting to know, domming, fucking, cuddling, and sleepy-snuggle-talking with the hottest werewolf in the universe?

Oh god, oh _god_ , and the werewolf in question was still there too, passed out next to him, the ringing of the phone apparently not having made it to his sensitive ears just yet

Scrambling as gingerly as he could, he bent over the side of the bed, digging through the pile of clothes on the floor and searching in desperation for his phone

Meanwile, his partner's ringtone kept going, Fiona Apple's _Werewolf_ echoing through the room just long enough for Derek to start stirring next to him before Stiles finally managed to answer the damn thing

" _What_?" he hissed, wincing over his shoulder as he watched the brunette's body settle next to him, another wave of sleep apparently claiming him

_Thank the goddess_

Derek suffered from insomnia just like Stiles did- one of the many, many things they had learned about eachother the night before- and now that he was actually sleeping...

It would be a crime for Stiles to wake him up, and Stiles hadn't committed any crimes since he was sixteen thank you

...Well, atleast none that he had been arrested for

 _"Wow, mornin' to you too Sunshine,"_ Joey huffed on the other line

"Sorry, sorry... I just.... long story, sleeping beauty next to me, can this wait? For like... I dunno, seven or eight hours?"

Eight would be preferred, there were still like seven kinks on their mutual _Oh god yes please_ list that he wanted to try before leaving the sanctity of the bedroom

_"Not really, the yakuza's callin',"_

....

_Oh_

That definitely sobered him up, a much more serious attitude replacing his early morning grogginess and post-sex satisfaction

"How urgent is it?"

_"That's a complicated question, Kira's the one that called, 'parently she talked to the bodyguard last night, we're s'posed to meet 'em down at the museum at eleven, but the boss has been mum all mornin',"_

"Dammit..." Stiles grumbled, rubbing his eyes

Of all the things he _didn't_ want to deal with on a day like today, it was yakuza shit

Don't get him wrong, he didn't necessarily _regret_ getting involved with the Katsuki clan, he owed them more than he could ever possibly repay, and as mob bosses went, Yuri was a pretty good one

He was gentle and soft-spoken, warm and freindly- if a bit shy- and sweet, Stiles actually felt fairly comfortable that whatever business he got wrapped up in, the Katsuki clan was probably going to be on the right side of it

But like all mob shit, the Katsuki clan's business was messy, complicated at best and violent at worst, and Stiles had wanted to spend the morning putting off adult responsibilities and sharing coffee and orgasms with Derek, not putting himself between a rock and a crazy place

Of all mornings that he couldn't just blow off work or go in late....

"Ok... alright.... I'll be there, what did Jug say?"

_"Actually I was hopin' you'd've heard from 'im by now, I haven't talked to 'im since last night,"_

" _What?_ "

_He went off with some blonde and I haven't heard back,"_

"Fuck... ok, ok, I'm calling, I'm-.... I'm gonna call, just... I'll talk to you later Jo, bye,"

Cursing under his breath, Stiles rubbed his face and stared down at his phone in annoyance

He knew Jughead hadn't called him last night, his _Hungry Like The Wolf_ ringtone was much louder than Joey's, he would have heard it...

"Problems?"

"AH!"

Jumping, Stiles hurriedly turned around, staring at Derek, who was sitting up, eyebrows raised, and clearly no longer sleeping

"No it.... it's fine, just work... I hate to do this but I'm gonna have to go in like, an hour, it's kind of an emergency,"

"I understand,"

"I really don't want to, I wanted to have breakfast with you, but.... at the very least, can I give you a ride? Or...?"

"Sure," Derek agreed with just the slightest uptick of a smile

"I wouldn't have been able to stay for breakfast anyway, the garage opens soon, in fact I should probably let them know that I'll be a little late... could I use your phone?"

"Huh? Oh sure, your's out of juice?" Stiles guessed, handing his cell phone over

"No, I don't have a cell phone,"

Stiles paused, his expression pale, practically choking on the idea

"I'm sorry you _what_?"

"I don't have a cell phone," Derek replied easily, taking the phone from Stiles

"Dude... WHY?!"

"Because, _'dude'_ , I don't have a real use for it, the only people I would even call are from the garage and none of us are particularly talkative, it's just an unnecessary expense,"

"What about emergencies?" Stiles pointed out

"That's what howling is for,"

...Stiles swore he couldn't tell if Derek was serious or not

"I'm getting you a cell phone," he concluded as he watched the werewolf dial

"Good luck, Marik has already tried that three times,"

Sighing, Stiles ran his fingers through his hair and wondered absently if it was too early in the relationship for him to be legitimately concerned about his partner....

~+~

"Good morning,"

Viktor inhaled deeply, his heart fluttering as a warm, overjoyed smile made it's way across his face, soft kisses peppered down his jaw and against the side of his neck, and he swore he was in Heaven

"Morning," he hummed back, eyes flickering open as he dragged his hands through Yuri's hair, letting them glide down his lover's back as Yuri's kisses began to ascend back up, finally catching Viktor's lips

"I can't stay long..." Yuri noted regretfully, his expression clearly apologetic as he pulled away

"Mm... sadly neither can I, the dragon calls," Viktor sighed in agreement

"You sure are loyal to him," Yuri noted as he reluctantly sat up, combing his fingers through his hair and reaching for the glasses he had left on the nightstand

"Well I don't have much choice, I'm in his debt," Viktor replied, sitting up as well

"In his _debt_? Is it... too personal of me to ask how that happened?"

"Youthfull foolishness," Viktor chuckled somberly

"I'm a faery, we have a very delicate culture revolving around things like debt, favors, and language, alot of that culture has faded with the modern age, the more we began to interact with species other than our own and realized how our culture was being perceived, the younger generations began to water down alot of our customs to make us more palatable to be around, against the warnings of our elders, and when we started to mingle into human society more and more, those customs began to change all together and even, in many societies, vanish entirely, evidently my parents were old school, I was a changeling,"

"A _changeling_? I thought that practice was abolished decades ago... if not centuries..."

"By many it was, but there are still some very old bloodlines that continue it, mine is apparently one of them,"

Yuri swallowed tightly, pursing his lips in anguish

Changelings were created by a despicable ancient practice that some Fae had taken up of exchanging their children for human children, the thought behind it being to strengthen their territories and keep the human respect for faeries kindled, with faery children being raised in the human world and going on to reproduce there- thus spreading faery bloodlines far beyond their own realm's reach- and human children being raised in the faery realm- then eventually sending them back to the human world with their heads full of knowledge yet lacking any magic or power to _use_ that knowledge, aside from just relaying the stories to other humans to serve as protection- what the humans thought was protecting _themselves_ when in actuality it was protecting the _Fae_ \- it was a messy, cruel, very old practice

Humans weren't the only ones who had to deal with it ofcourse, but they were the most common and the easiest targets

...As well as the cruelist

Yuri had heard all sorts of stories growing up about how damaging the Changeling practice was, and about how it had been a cultural revolution for the Fae to stop- and even outlaw- the practice, Yuri hadn't known anyone was still carrying through it...

"I was raised by humans for the first eight years or so, but when I started showing real signs of supernatural powers, they got rid of me, I was adopted by a druid, but he didn't teach me much about the old ways the way most fae parents apparently still do, as he- like so many- just assumed those practices were completely gone and he wanted me to blend in as neatly as possible with human society, it wasn't his fault that I didn't know any better but... not knowing those customs is what got me stuck in this situation,"

"In debt?"

Viktor nodded, combing a strand of hair behind his ear

"Seto saved me a few years ago from some human hunters who had caught me, to be honest he was there to rescue his brother and I think I was just an afterthought, but he still saved me, and when he did, I made two fatal flaws- the first being that I gave him my true name, and the second being that I thanked him,"

He paused, expression darkening a little

"Seto was raised by a very old dragon, one who was an expert in warfare, he taught his adopted son everything he could ever need to know about other cultures and their weaknesses and how to control them, at the time I didn't realize that giving my true name would give someone power over me, or that thanking them was indirectly saying that I owed them a debt of gratitude... but Seto knew,"

"And he used that against you?" Yuri frowned with disgust

"This Seto sounds like a real asshole..."

"Actually he's softened up a bit since then, I would even stretch it far enough to say that we're freinds now, though I doubt he'll admit it, I think part of it might be because I know _his_ true name too, though it was only accidentally overheard from his brother, it still works, now I have just as much power over him as he does over me, minus the debt I'm still paying by helping him run his company,"

"How is he even holding those customs against you if they're not used anymore though?" Yuri frowned

"Court,"

"...Court?" Yuri repeated in confusion, eyebrows raised

"Like.... judges and juries and lawyers...? He.... _sued you_...?"

"No no, _Faery_ Court," Viktor laughed

"The Winter Court specifically, that my parents evidently belonged to, even though the customs have faded, they're still enforceable by the Courts if anyone bothers to bring it to them,"

Somehow, that explanation wasn't much better...

"I'm sorry that you went through all of that," Yuri said quietly, looping his fingers with Viktor's

"How long does the debt last for?"

"Until Seto considers it repaid, I'm probably going to have this job for the rest of my life," Viktor said with a shrug

"I guess I can't complain too much though, I work a high-paying, high-power job for a gaming corporation, what a terrible fate, right?" he teased

And Viktor may have been just teasing, but Yuri wasn't finding it very amusing

It was terrible that Viktor was stuck against his will somewhere, no matter where that place was, and he vowed that one way or another, he was going to set Viktor free

~+~

"Where the fuck have _you_ been?"

Ryou jerked his head up, turning pink as he turned his attention to the irritable blonde in the corner, Yura's tail swishing with annoyance and his ears pinned back

Why was Yura upset with him...?

"O-Oh I... I spent the night with a... freind..." he replied a bit awkwardly

"Don't pay him any attention Ryou, Yura is just jealous about being the only one of us who didn't get laid last night," Mila taunted, her own ears perked and her tail practically curling with amusement as she stepped past the two of them to restock the wristbands at the front of the club

"I am NOT _jealous_! And FYI I _totally_ would have gotten laid if the hot biker hadn't had a family emergency!" he snapped irritably, shoving a bottle of vodka onto the shelf in front of him with a little more force than necessary

"Hot biker?" Toni echoed with a slight scoff

"What hot biker?"

"The... the hot one!! The brunette with the leather jacket! His freind called him 'Beka'!"

That actually stopped the other neko dead in her tracks, her expression turning from teasing to concerned as she shifted her attention back to him

"Wait a second, did he have a square jaw and an undercut?"

"Yeah!! Yeah that's him!!!"

" _That's_ Otabek, he works at the garage I go to, did he say what was going on?" she asked with clear concern

"No, the blonde he was talking to said something about his sister though,"

"Shit... wich sister?"

"There's more than one?"

Toni just rolled her eyes before leaping over the counter and heading to see Mila

"Hey Red, I need to head out for a minute,"

"Ok, see you!"

Wait a minute, what.... what was happening here exactly?

Toni knew Hot Beka!?

Toni was about to go _see_ Hot Beka!?

This was his chance...

"Wait a second!!" he shouted, hurrying to follow the brunette out of the club, not even bothering to check with Mila first

"I'm coming with you! I want to check on him too!"

"Really? Because as I understand it, you want a date," Toni noted blandly as she walked to her bike

"Can't it be both??"

Given the disapproving look she was giving him... he was willing to say she wasn't thrilled with that answer

"Oh come on Toni! I won't do anything crass! He said he was going to meet me again tonight so I don't _need_ to see him now to get a date, I just _want_ to see him so I can make sure his sister is ok, does that make me a horrible person? I CARE about this guy you know!"

"Until two minutes ago you only knew him as Hot Beka," Toni pointed out, expression flat

"That doesn't mean I can't care!! C'mon, I'm trying to make a connection here! Isn't that what you and Mila always yap about me needing to do!? Aren't pride-mates supposed to _help_ eachother?!"

Sighing heavily, Toni rolled her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose

"Fine, fine, you can come, but this is a _freindly visit_ alright? I'm not sure how I feel creep-factor wise about you following me to his place of work when you didn't even get his name to begin with, and I don't want you acting like some kind of vulture looking for an easy date when he's probably in a vulnerable place,"

"Yeah yeah no vultures I get it now let's go," he said quickly, practically running to the motercycle.... and making Toni regret roughly 40% of her life choices along the way

~+~

"Yeah, I'm not pickin' up jack," Joey sighed in frustration, rubbing his hands down his face

"Well I _did_ tell you they used scent blockers, you know that if it was as easy as picking up a scent I could have just done it myself, right?" Phichit pointed out, leaning against the wall behind him

"Yeah but I just wanted to be sure," Joey shrugged, glancing down at his partner as Jughead shoved another chicken nugget into his mouth

He would have preferred a burger but the museum head hadn't even been happy about allowing _any_ food into the exhibit hall so he took what he could get away with

"How come ya' missed breakfast anyway?"

"Overslept," the brunette replied easily

"Let me guess, you spent the night somewhere fun?" Phichit asked with a suggestive wiggle of his eyebrows

"I'm not one to kiss and tell, but I _might_ have,"

"You guys _do_ know I'm trying to work here, right?" Stiles snipped from across the room, clearly annoyed by all the chatter

The werewolves seemed to give a collective roll of their eyes, in sync despite not being part of the same pack

Yuri couldn't say he was paying much mind to them though, he was far too focused on the only other non-wolves in the room

"Anything yet?" he asked anxiously, lips pursing when Stiles shook his head

"Not yet, I think I'm going to have better luck seeing the artifact than doing what Lyds is doing,"

"They don't have a replica, they don't even have a photo, I already asked," Yuri said with a slight sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose

Of all the messes....

"Don't you think that's a little odd?" Jughead pointed out, standing up from the floor and crossing his arms over his chest

"I mean they haven't had the thing long enough to photograph it but it's been here long enough to get stolen? And clearly it was targeted, since it was the _only_ thing stolen,"

"You think our guy was hunting it before the museum got it?" Stiles guessed

"I'm willing to put money on it,"

"And Miss Ishtar doesn't even have a name for it that we could look up," Yuri sighed with frustration

"Or she's not _giving_ us the name," Joey pointed out

That was equally as possible, if not more so, but Yuri was trying to keep his conspiracy theories to himself for the time being

"Does this entire thing stink as badly to you guys as it does to me?" Stiles asked tensely

Although evidently, he wasn't the only one with that train of thought...

"Are ya' kiddin'? It wreaks," Joey nodded

Yuri was about to pitch in his own two cents, but movement caught the corner of his eye, prompting him to turn around

Lydia, the banshee who occassionally helped Stiles with intuitive investigating, rose to her feet, her movement stilted and almost unnatural as she began walking out of the exhibit hall and towards one of the back corridors

He would call out to her, but he knew that it was useless when she was in these dissociative states, she wouldn't hear him

Instead he and Stiles merely exchanged glances before quietly following after her, down the corridor and through a door marked clearly with "Employees Only"

Yuri was becoming increasingly glad that Ishizu had stepped out breifly during their investigation

The room she lead them to wasn't the storage room Ishizu had said the artifact had been stolen from, rather, it was a very plain but very secure looking office room with a safe in the corner

Why would she had been keeping the artifact in there..?

Wordlessly, Lydia bent down in front of the safe, pressing one hand flat against the iron door as the other moved to the dial, muttering something unintelligible under her breath as she started to carefully turn the dial

The men behind her exchanged another glance, silently communicating their mutual concern, before turning their attention back to the banshee as the lock clicked and she opened the safe

The _empty_ safe

Lydia slid her hand hesitantly inside, before going stock still, the intelligible muttering under her breath getting louder and faster, more insistent, her body tensing here and there, but still she didn't move

Without saying a word, Stiles dropped down next to her and set his hand beside her's, squeezing his eyes shut and clearly trying to focus

Yuri, for his part, stayed completely still and quiet

A siren could do nothing here, so he could only wait for the ones who could

The seconds seemed to tick by like hours, and just as Yuri was starting to grow impatient, the two of them suddenly jerked back, Stiles hurrying to his feet and quickly helping Lydia up as well

"What? What did you-?"

"Do you have a pen and papper?" Stiles blurted out, cutting the yakuza off

Yuri took a breath, nodding slowly

"I'll find some,"

~+~

The minute Toni parked the bike, Yura was off, tearing his helmet off and letting his ears twitch, not having enjoyed the feeling of the helmet smashing them down against his head

He didn't know how Toni stood it....

Inhaling the suffocating scents of gasoline and metal polish, he reminded himself that he was here for a very good reason and tried to put his distaste behind him

"Let me do the talking, atleast in the beginning," Toni instructed as she dismounted her bike as well and hung her helmet on the handle, charging to the back of the garage with Yura tailing close behind her

"Yeah yeah whatever,"

The garage wasn't as noisy as he expected, other than the radio that was playing in the corner, he had been to mechanics before ofcourse, he was used to the extremity of the noise, but this place was clearly different

There was a car on the rack with someone laying beneath it, but that seemed to be who Toni was going for, the coffee-and-violet haired neko striding close and tapping on the top of the car

Surely enough, the woman underneath it quickly slid out, smiling with familiarity up at Toni as she pushed herself to her feet

"Hey Topaz, didn't I _just_ fix your bike?"

"Yep, and you'll be happy to know that isn't the reason I'm here," Toni grinned back, earning curious look from the other woman

"Ok, you've got my attention,"

"Is Otabek here? I heard something happened with one of his sisters last night,"

"Ah," the stranger nodded, grabbing a grease-covered rag from the shelf beside her and rubbing it against her hands to clear away the grease staining them

"He's around the other side working on a bike, word must travel pretty fast, I didn't know too many people knew about that yet,"

"We don't know much, only that there was some kind of emergency, what happened?"

"Apparently the museum Aiday works at was robbed, fucker nocked her out cold,"

"Is she ok?"

"I think so, she's home today, Beka was going to stay with her but Amina is already there so they insisted he come in,"

"That's good atleast, I really hope she's ok though, do know what they stole?"

"Some artifact, but Marik is pissed, Ishizu brought the yakuza in to deal with it,"

"Ishizu was there? Wait, why did she call the yakuza? If she wanted muscle I could have just called in the Serpents,"

"Marik's point exactly, but apparently she's looking for brain, not brawn, though why you'd hire a gang instead of go to the police is still beyond me,"

Yura found himself utterly and thoroughly bored by this conversation, and he knew that this could go on for a wile without stopping, so he decided to just go find Otabek himself

The mechanic in the leggings and sports bra had said he was around the other side, he could find that easily enough on his own thank you very much

So, without saying a word and making use of his cat-like light-footedness, he snuck away from the chattering girls, his ears twitching again as he picked up on the sound of a wrench at work and followed it

Once again there was a radio playing, making it much harder to follow the source of the sound, but far from impossible, and when he rounded the corner, his decision to strike out on his own paid off

A muscular brunette in nothing but jeans and an undershirt sat in front of a radio, Fleetwood Mac playing on low volume as he twisted and turned the wrench against the bike

God, Yura wanted those hands to work just as hard on _him_

Clearing his throat, he stepped closer and gently tapped the man on the shoulder

The brunette immediately tensed and jerked his head up, startled, and Yura locked eyes with--

"You're not Otabek," he frowned sourly, ears pressing flat and eyes narrowing- though, admittedly, as he had a glamor on to hide his cat features from others wile out in public, the annoyance probably wasn't portrayed nearly as clearly as he hoped it would have been

"Ah, no I'm not," the hazel-eyed, bearded stranger replied

Goddammit...

Just as Yura was getting ready to screech with irritation though-

"Hey Beka!! You've got a visitor!!!"

Yura glanced up just in time to notice that there was a _second_ motercycle being worked on a good ten to twelve feet away, with a second radio playing, and... a second mechanic....

Surely enough, _this_ muscular brunette was exactly the one he was looking for

Practically jumping with excitement, his ears and tail perked up and his eyes bright, Yura made his way to the object of his affection, trying his hardest not to seem too eager

"Oh hey, you're the neko from the club last night, right?"

"That's me, I came to make sure you're ok, or uh... I guess... more that your sister's ok?"

"She's alright, thanks for asking," Otabek replied with a slight, shy smile

"How did you find me?"

"Oh uh, my pride-mate came to check on you too but... she's busy chatting with Every Lesbian's Wet Dream so...."

"Toni's here too huh?"

"Yeah, I heard her say she was going to come and check on you and I was like 'oh that's the dude I was talking to last night, I hope he's ok', so I tagged along,"

"Well, that was.. very sweet of you," Otabek noted, face a little pink

"Um.. thanks," Yura replied awkwardly

Jeez, why was it easier to talk to this guy in a BDSM club than in a half-ass normal setting...?

"Don't you have a break coming up Beka?" the other brunette pointed out, not even looking away from his work

"As in- _now_?"

"....Right, yes, um.... good point,"

Looking back at Yura's, Otabek's face was now a shade darker

"So... I'm going on break, do you.. want to have lunch or something?"

"Yes!!" Yura shouted.... much more enthusiastically than he necessarily meant to

"I mean... yeah, sure, that's cool,"

"Great, let me just clean up a little then and see Toni-"

"Oh I can just tell her later that everything is fine, I mean, she seems like she's pretty deep in conversation with your coworker so why bother her?"

Otabek seemed a little distrusting of that idea, but if he had a problem with it, he didn't say anything, instead heading towards the door attached to the main building with Yura following close behind him

A lunch date....

He should _definitely_ be able to get some information about Otabek's preferences now

And maybe, just maybe, he wouldn't be stuck as the only one not getting laid again tonight

~+~

"It's not any language I've ever heard,"

"To be fair though, how many different languages _have_ you heard?" Jughead pointed out, tilting his head

" _Enough_ ," Stiles argued back, hands on his hips

"Lydia doesn't recognize it either and she knows Archiac Latin for fuck's sake,"

"Lydia is _also_ trying to concentrate so maybe you should take this argument elsewhere," the strawberry-blonde snipped, not looking up from the papper she was currently sketching on

Drawing Stiles' attention back to her, the brunette peered over her shoulder, wrinkling his nose

"Mmm, make the hair a little shaggier,"

Lydia rolled her eyes, but complied, striking her pen down against the sketch again

"And for the record, Stiles is right, I've heard alot of languages but I've never heard this one, it sounded.... ancient,"

"Ancient Egyptian maybe?" Phichit suggested

"I mean it _was_ an ancient Egyptian artifact that was stolen, it makes sense,"

"Maybe.... I don't know, it wasn't easy to make out anyway... with all the screaming,"

"How bad was the screaming? Was it-...?"

Yuri paused mid-thought, biting his lip

"It was.... in the past right? Not..... you're not.. hearing-?"

"A death scream? No, not yet, but what I _did_ hear.. it was alot, more than just one or two people.... alot more,"

Yuri bit his tongue, wringing his hands and turning to Phichit, who looked as concerned as Yuri felt

"And you Stiles? Did you see anything else besides the artifact being stolen?"

"No... even that was just flashes, it's like... the energy imprint left behind when that thing was stolen was fractured or something, like... maybe it wasn't there long enough to leave a clear impression? It was kind of like when a TV gets all snowy, like-"

"Static?" Lydia guessed, looking up at her partner

"...Yeah exactly,"

"I heard that too, in the beginning, voices under static, then the static turned to screaming, and the voices stayed the same, like they were a layer beneath it,"

"Yeah, I felt like I was watching grainy security camera footage,"

"Have you guys ever dealt with anything like that before?" Yuri frowned

"No.... we've had scrambled signals but... this is a new one on us," Stiles sighed

"I wonder.... if it could be psychic interference..." Jughead mused

"Psychic interference?"

"Yeah, like... a magical barrier that scrambles psychic signals? Like how you'd use certain crystals or herbs to prevent psychic attacks? The guy was using scent blockers to keep us from getting on his tail, maybe he used a psychic interference too,"

"That's awfully specific," Yuri noted with a frown

"I mean the scent blockers are obvious, the Ishtars are Jackals, ofcourse you'd use scent blockers, but.... they'd have to be _awfully_ thoroughly prepared to just... use psychic interference with no particular reason... even if they _did_ know the Ishtars employ my services, I keep my relationship with you guys as quiet as I can so you don't get caught up in anything, and it isn't exactly every P.I. office who has a banshee and a raven at their disposal,"

"Meaning that they're either _rediculously_ well-prepared," Jughead noted

"Or that they did a helluva lot of research before makin' the heist," Joey concluded

"Frankly, I'm not sure wich is worse," Phichit frowned

"Neither am I," Yuri sighed, rubbing his face breifly before hardening his spirit and turning to the three wolves

"Phichit, this is our priority for now, let the others know that I want all of their attention on this,"

"Right," Phichit nodded quickly, drawing his cell phone from his pocket

"And you two..."

Biting the inside of his cheek, Yuri quickly bowed, deeply at the waist, showing as much respect as he could

"I'm sorry for the inconvenience but please use whatever resources possible to help us with this,"

"It's not inconvenient, we're happy to help," Jughead promised

"Yeah, stand up man, it ain't like we're workin' for ya' for free after all," Joey chuckled, ruffling Yuri's hair

Probably pretty disrespectfull to a yakuza boss but they knew eachother well enough by now, Joey was allowed- atleast by his own standards

"Thank you," Yuri said softly, turning on his heel to move back towards Stiles and Lydia, peering over the banshee's shoulder at the theif she was sketching

Long shaggy hair, dark eyes, something wicked about his expression...

"Do you feel as funny about this as I do?" Stiles muttered under his breath

"Yes," Yuri breathed

"I have a rather wicked feeling about this...."

~+~

"I'm surprised by how quiet your garage is, usually those places are loud as hell," Yura mused as he sipped on his soda

"Well, we all have sensitive hearing so... it's natural that we try to be quieter, we have some charms in place to limit the noise,"

"Oh, is that why all of you had your radios low?"

"You got it," Otabek nodded

Sensitive hearing.... Yura wondered.......

Generally it was considered rude to ask someone for their species in the supernatural world, but he had a nagging curiosity that wasn't likely to be easily satisfied

"That's pretty awesome, I mean, I'm always looking for places that are good for people with sensitive hearing, being a neko and all,"

There, that should be a good opening

"Understandable, we're a group of two vampires, a werewolf, and a jackal, so we have the same problem,"

...That's great but wich one was Otabek?!

"A.. jackal? Like a werejackal?" Yura asked curiously, trying not to roll his eyes when his phone vibrated in his pocket, probably Toni or Mila looking for him

"No, just a jackal, different species,"

"Really? That's... huh, I've never heard of that,"

Sure, not all shapeshifters were Weres, and not all members of the supernatural community that used animal names were even shapeshifters at all, ravens and White Stags were examples of that, but a jackal....

"I'm not surprised, they're pretty rare and secretive, they were nearly hunted to extinction a few thousand years ago, then they got caught up in the wave of werewolf slaughters back in the 1700s because humans can't- and don't care to- differentiate, so they weren't even recovered before it caught them again," Otabek mused, thanking the waitress politely as she brought out their orders

"Really? Shit... the slaughters are one thing but why were they nearly decimated before?"

"Well, it's a long story," Otabek mused, grabbing the ketchup from beside him

"But basically, according to Marik, they were taken out in mass numbers by the Romans, before then Jackals thrived because so many Khemetics saw them as prophets or descendants of Anubis, but when the Romans took over, anyone who displayed even the slightest tendencies were murdered, and their numbers were so badly slain through so quickly that they didn't have time back then to develop Omeganism like the werewolves did during the Gevudon Killings, it doesn't help that Jackals are generally solitary and don't have pack structures like werewolves, so it took even _longer_ for them to develop Omeganism,"

"Shit..." Yura muttered, rubbing his face

Every species had a slightly different history with Omeganism- the pet term supernaturals had developed for their evolution that began allowing for male pregnancies, an adaptation that started a few centuries back during one of the biggest supernatural genocides in history, developed as a way to prevent mass extinctions, both by doubling the ability to breed and by creating a sort of loop hole for male wolves or other supernaturals in pack structures to be taken in by a solid pack, eliminating the larger numbers of lone wolves that had been prominant- and primarily victims- beforehand- but nekos, as one of the first species to develop the trait, were especially aware of the importance of that evolutionary benefit

"I thought they recently discovered that Anubis is a wolf god though, not a jackal? Aren't Egyptian Jackals technically a subspecies of wolf?"

"Well yes... but Jackals are inherently very different from Weres so they thought it was more distinctive than calling themselves wolves,"

Ah... that made sense....

And, bonus, Yura could now rule out "jackal" for what Otabek's species was, wich only left vampire or werewolf

He wished he could just sniff Otabek to find out what he was, but the mechanic's scent was so strongly coated in the smells of oil and metal polish that his natural scent was entirely muted under it

Just as Yura was about to ask another probing question, his phone vibrated _again_ , provoking another wave of irritation

"You should answer that," Otabek noted, dipping a fry in some ketchup

Yura gave an awkward laugh, trying not to appear nearly as annoyed as he actually was, and hurriedly pulled his phone out

_Where the hell are you?!_

Yep, Toni

_On a hot date, leave me alone :P_

That very mature response was quickly typed back before he completely turned his phone off and shoved it back in his pocket, leaning his head against his palm and absently picking up one of his own fries

"Sooooooo.... I hear you have seven sisters, what's that like?"

~+~

For the next few days everything continued mostly the same

The Serpant Pride- as they had started calling themselves after being uanble to decide on a more proper name and hearing the suggestion made ironically by one of Toni's gang-mates- continued to have fairly steady business each night, and for the first time since their formation, each of them had a significant other to go to when work was done, rather than simply going home and cat-piling in one of their apartments

The investigation into the museum robbery was stilted, despite both the Katsuki Clan and the J.S.J. P.I. agency working their tails off trying to find atleast a good lead, making each of the people involved feel tense and atleast somewhat irritable, though for many of them that was soothed by visits to the club or meetings with their partners

One person who was surprisingly _less_ irritable lately was Seto Kaiba, who seemed to be far more passive in recent days than Viktor could ever remember seeing him, not that he was complaining at all, the faery was relieved for it actually, it meant he got to spend more time with Yuri

Like this morning, for instance

Viktor inhaled deeply and curled himself deeper into Yuri's sheets, his heart was fluttering with such contentment that his wings even wanted to spring out, but he wouldn't do that just yet, he couldn't remember if Yuri's nightstand was behind him or not and he really didn't want to nock over his boyfreind's alarm clock if it was

 _Boyfreind_....

He could hardly believe it

He was actually kind of glad now that he had never found that singer he had been so enchanted by, Yuri was ten times better than anyone else could be

And Prince Eric, upon reveiw, hadn't ever actually found Ariel through her voice anyway, he had found Ursula

Well, Viktor didn't want an Ursula- a false dream of love that looked and sounded pretty but was nothing but wickedness on the inside- he wanted the beautifull, kind, warm Yuri, his very own Ariel

...Who was strangely missing at the moment, but Viktor was sure he was just off making breakfast, he had mentioned that the first time they had a morning together he would do that, and to Viktor's knowledge this was them having a morning together- or they were about to be, anyway- so--

_"Something 'bout you, makes me feel like a dangerous woman,"_

Viktor's eyes burst open, sitting straight up in bed

That was it... that was the voice..... the same voice he had heard a week ago....

_"Something 'bout, something 'bout, something 'bout you,"_

Scrambling out of bed as quickly as he could, bursting out of the bedroom and racing to the kitchen

_"Makes me wanna do things that I shouldn't-"_

"YURI!!!"

Startling, Yuri dropped the fry pan he had been digging out of his cabinet and hurriedly turned around, eyes wide and brows raised

"V-Viktor? What-"

"YOU'RE THE VOICE!"

"...E-Excuse me...?"

Hurrying across the kitchen floor, Viktor grabbed Yuri's hands and squeezed them tightly, a warm, overjoyed look on his face

"The voice I heard last week, that I was so enchanted by, it's you, I can't believe it!"

"W-When did you hear me singing last week?"

"Outside in an ally! I never actually saw you though, I only heard this.... angelic, hypnotic voice singing K-Pop and I ran after it but by the time I turned the corner you were gone,"

"Ah.... yeah.. that was me..." Yuri muttered back, vividly remembering the day he'd been singing behind the shop trying to pick some herbs, the same day he had first been invited to the BDSM club, wich ultimately lead to meeting Viktor

It was hard to forget

"Why didn't you tell me before that you could sing like that!?"

Usually when people got compliments, they smiled, but Yuri....

Upon hearing that question, Yuri's expression seemed to turn more grim, his eyes averting, biting his lip as he slowly pulled his hands away from Viktor's and moved to sit down in one of the kitchen chairs

"Viktor.... there's a reason that I'm so talented,"

"You were professionally trained?" Viktor guessed, grabbing the chair next to Yuri and plopping down into it

"I'm a siren," Yuri corrected quietly

"I... I didn't want you to think when we first met that I had somehow manipulated you into being attracted to me... I knw alot of people think if they're attracted to a siren then that must be the reason why, but I swear I didn't do anything, and I've just been... trying to think of the best way to tell you...."

"..You think that this is some sort of bad news?" Viktor asked slowly, eyebrows raised

"Yuri... I don't care what you are, I _adore_ you, you could be an incubus for all I care, I would _still_ adore you," Viktor promised, his expression as warm and sweet as one could imagine

"Really?" Yuri asked quietly

"Yes ofcourse," Viktor chuckled, leaning forward and giving his boyfreind a light kiss, gently combing his fingers through Yuri's hair, his expression as fond as it could be

"I'm just glad that mystery is settled, I wanted to find you so badly, I went to that club looking for you.... and now...."

"Wait, how did you know I would be at the club that night?"

"Ah, I found the peice of papper you left in the ally, like a calling card, though if you really had planned on being at the club at midnight you were impressively late, didn't we meet closer to two A.M.?"

"Oh, that was my performance time, I'm a lounge singer at my freind's speak-easy on weekends and she hooked me up with a side-gig at the club, but I had an emergency to take care of and had to run off before I could perform, my freind Atem took my spot,"

For a moment, Viktor was quiet, a stunned look on his face as the gears began to turn in his head

"Your freind Atem... does he go by Eros?"

"What? No, that's what _I_ go by,"

"Ah, thought so-"

"Atem usually goes by _Pharaoh_ ,"

That was enough for the air to be nearly nocked out of Viktor's lungs, eyes widening even more and throat going dry

How had he missed that?

It was unbelievable....

All that time, all the searching that they'd done hunting for this mysterious "pharaoh"... and he was sleeping in Seto's bed!

"Viktor...? Is everything ok?"

Jerking out of it, Viktor's eyes lit up even more with excitement

"Yes yes everything is fine! I just need to call my boss, I think I just earned myself a full day off,"

~+~

For the next few days, everything was calm

To Viktor's surprise, there was no word from the business partner who had contacted them to find "The Pharaoh", he could only assume Seto had some reluctance in turning him over to the guy, and although Viktor was curious why, he decided not to ask

Things were uniquely harmonious, why disrupt that?

He could always ask later, when things were a little less peacefull and there was nothing to disrupt

Ofcourse, Viktor wasn't the only one dealing with a level of curiosity

Otabek perpetually smelled like oil and metal polish, it was a scent that lingered and covered his natural perfume past the point of Yura being able to distinguish it

Even when he stepped out of the shower, dripping with the scents of lavender and rose petals from his soap and shampoo, there was still that underlying metalic scent

And he hadn't quite managed to convince Otabek to tell him what his species was either

Not that he thought Otabek was purposely hiding it or anything- nor did it really matter to Yura, it wouldn't change his opinion or affections regarding Otabek, he was just curious, as cats often were

He was pretty sure that Otabek had just gotten used to people being able to flag his species by scent, much like Yura had, unless he was around a human or wearing scent blockers, he didn't put any thought into the fact that people in the community couldn't distinguish his species, wich was honestly not the best habbit, only roughly half of the supernatural community had super senses after all, and he shouldn't just assume people know but...

Regardless, he just wanted to know if he should be expecting to go for a run on the next full moon or if he should bring some blood in a flask on his and Otabek's first movie date, was that so terrible?

The real problem in all this wasn't Otabek's secrecy though, or Yura's pentient for getting into things where he didn't belong, the _real_ problem was that he had been spending so much of his time either with Otabek or thinking about Otabek that he hadn't spent nearly as much time focusing on his pride, though in fairness, he could say the same about his other pridemates, they all seemed to have a tendency to get wrapped up in their significant others, a trait he had noticed with the girls in previous relationships- of wich he and Ryou had no experience

He didn't think much of it, it was natural for nekos to become hyper-focused on their mates

Nekos weren't pack-creatures after all, and althouh prides still formed, they weren't the deep, soul-driven connections that werewolves had with their packs, not anything close to it

Sure, pridemates cared about eachother, but pride-bonds were meant mostly for young, unmated nekos to keep from being alone, they rarely lasted in any significant capacity once a neko settled down with their mate

So was Yura really at fault for not noticing how little Ryou had been at work the last several days?

It was natural, really, that Toni was the one to point it out

Prides didn't have leaders like wolf packs did, there was no power structure, but Toni had always been the most protective and watchfull of her pridemates, so the fact that she noticed before Yura or Mila was hardly a surprise

"Have either of you heard from Ryou today?"

Mila had been half-way through with cleaning one of the large leather couches in the back of the club, and Yura had been in the process of carrying a crate of blood bottles to the bar when Toni stepped towards them, the Russian nekos exchanging curious glances but doing little more

"Yeah, he texted me this morning and said he was taking the day off to take a trip with that.... uh... whatever his boyfreind's name is, I figured I'd let him go, considering how hard he always works, he deserves it,"

"Couldn't you consult us first hag!?" Yura huffed in annoyance, his ears twitching and nose wrinkling

He knew Mila was right, Ryou had always worked extremely hard, and had always covered for the three of them when they needed to have a moment alone with their significant others, he deserved a day off if he asked for it

..Although... wait..... _had_ he asked for it?

"Wait a second, you said he _told you_ he was taking the day off? He didn't _ask_?"

Mila blinked, suddenly aware herself of how strange that was

"Yeah....come to think of it, that _is_ a little weird..."

"When's the last time Ryou ever just demanded something instead of anxiously and politely asking for it?" Yura noted, crossing his arms over his chest in disapproval

"Yeah... yeah this isn't good," Toni said with a soft sigh

"That's really unlike him, and he's barely been around lately, he keeps spending more and more time around that guy he's dating and is barely even checking in with us,"

"So.. what? You think Ryou's boyfreind is a bad influence or something?" Mila suggested

"I think it's possible, and I think we need to talk to him about it, when he gets back from this trip of his, let's talk to him, maybe ask to meet his boyfreind, I don't like the feeling I'm getting about this,"

Mila and Yura nodded in mutual agreement, even though pride-bonds were worlds different from pack-bonds, they still loved and cared for their pridemate, and no one wanted to see Ryou get hurt

~+~

Ten minutes

In ten minutes she could go home and relax with her girlfreind, no more work to worry about, no more being vigilant or overly polite, no more dealing with people, she'd be free until tommorrow night

Sure, technically, she was only doing this job to begin with because she owed Mila a favor, but as soon as they found someone new to take her position, Lydia would gladly walk away from having to man the door at the club and could go back to devoting her free time to actually having _free time_

Or atleast, that was what she thought

If the man hurrying towards her had anything to say about it though, she was fairly willing to bet that wouldn't be the case

"Lydia!! I've had a breakthrough!!"

"Stiles, can this wait ten minutes?"

At this point the club wasn't accepting any new customers, so technically she was free to talk, as her only job now was to keep people from coming in, but she would still prefer to be in private- and having a drink of some kind- for whatever Stiles was about to unload on her

"No, I need your help,"

Ah how she regretted asking...

"Stiles-"

"I'm on the edge of something here Lyds! I figured out how to find the guy- through _sound_ ,"

..Ugghhh... damn him for making her curious...

" _Sound_?"

"Yeah, it's the one peice of evidence he left behind, clearly he was anticipating werewolves, touch-knows, and people with The Sight, but a banshee? You're the one thing he didn't account for, so he wore scent-blockers, covered his tracks- literally- and used psychic interference, but he didn't do anything to cover up the _sounds_ made wile he was there, I had Jughead's girlfreind strip the sound-impressions from the museum and record them, if you listen to them, maybe it'll spark something,"

Rubbing her face and looking somewhat exhausted, Lydia directed her gaze upwards to meet his

"....I hate that that makes any amount of sense,"

"So you'll do it?"

She glanced down at her watch- eight minutes to go- and then glanced over her shoulder at the bar- closed, Toni wiping down the surface...

"If Toni can cover the door then _fine_ ,"

Unsurprisingly, Stiles rushed to give her a tight hug before grinning and sprinting off to chew poor Toni's ear off

Lydia almost felt bad about that

... _Almost_

~+~

"Are you sure this is ok?"

"Positive," Yura encouraged breathlessly, his finers digging into Otabek's hair, nails pressing slightly into his scalp

His heart was racing, heat was flooding through him as his partner's teeth nipped against the soft flesh of his neck over and over again, though taking very obvious care not to puncture

He kind of wanted them to though, he wanted the pain, he wanted the danger, he wanted that everlasting connection to Otabek that everyone had to their sires or Alphas or whatever the fuck Otabek might be if he actually turned Yura into... _whatever_...

It was an enthralling idea

"This is a BDSM club, ya' know, this is literally what it's for," he pointed out

"Mm... yes... but you work here..." Otabek noted, his hands teasing the waistband of Yura's tight leather pants, brushing over the neko's tail- wich, despite being only a slight touch, was still enough to send jolts of pleasure through Yura's skin

"We're almost closed," Yura pointed out, pressing a few kisses down Otabek's jaw

"Mm... you're almost closed..." Otabek agreed, as though he were making a point

But with only a few more slow, sloppy kisses and just a bit of grinding against his partner, Yura was granted the immense pleasure of suddenly being picked up, a gasp leaving him, as Otabek carried him through the quickly emptying club and towards the back rooms

Despite having slept together several times over the past few days, they had never actually fooled around in the club, something always got in the way, from the frequent issues presented by Yura working there to the occassional incidents like Otabek having to leave early or te private rooms being perpetually full, something kept preventing them from it, but not this time, not now, when the club was almost empty and Otabek had nowhere to be and Yura was _officially_ off-work as of twenty-seven seconds ago....

They were so close now that nothing could stop them, _surely_

...Atleast, that was what Yura thought, until an ear-peircing scream echoed from the room beside them

Yura let go of Otabek, covering his ears and wincing as the brunette lost his balance, dropping the neko to cover his own ears as he crouched to the floor

Luckily, being a cat, Yura landed on his feet, but he tumbled to his nees a second later as the earth-shattering noise vibrated through the club

It felt like it went on for an hour, though he knew within reason that it was at most a minute, probably less than that, and by the time it stopped, he felt disoriented, like the entire universe was spinning around him

He moved one hand off of his ears, eyes opening slowly, and feeling a slight wave of warmth flow through him when Otabek instinctively wrapped his hand around Yura's wrist

They exchanged shy smiles before rising to their feet, the neko backing up against the brunette behind him, all arousal was gone, replaced with anxiety and confusion, but before either of them could say anything, Toni and Mila came running around the corner, quickly followed by the siren who had been performing at the club earlier that evening and his silver-haired companion

"What the fuck was that?!" Mila shouted

"A banshee," the siren replied breathlessly, running right for the door

"Fucker, banshees only scream when someone is about to die," Yura snipped back, he may not be Fae, but even he knew that

"..I know," the siren said seriously, turning the handle and pausing in the doorway, the others crowding behind him

"Stiles? What are you-?"

"Lydia!"

Toni ran right past the siren, paying him little mind as she rushed to the red-head's side

Lydia, for her creidt, didn't seem particularly shaken up, just... somewhat in her own head

Yura moved from Otabek's embrace, taking a few steps into the room to observe

Nothing seemed out of place or dangerous, it was just Lydia and some lanky brunette sitting fully-clothed on the bed with a portable CD player between them

Hardly unusual.... well, ok, pretty unusual for a BDSM club, but not anything to scream over

"What happened? What's going on?" the siren asked hurriedly

"The theif... he's... going to kill someone," Lydia breathed, though no one had time to press more before the siren's silver-haired companion interrupted

"Theif...? Yuri, what is she talking about?"

"Beats the fuck out of me," Yura huffed, crossing his arms over his chest

The siren and his silver-haired companion both stared in confusion for a moment, before the brunette spoke up

"I.. think Viktor was talking to me," he clarified slowly

"I go by Eros when I sing but my name is Yuri,"

"So you're both named Yuri? That's funny," Mila smirked

Yuri, for his credit, mostly ignored her, turning his attention back to Viktor

"You should go home, this is... another job of mine, and-"

"Wait, so you have a store, you sing, _and_ you have a third job?"

"...Sort of," Yuri winced, gently tugging Viktor out of the room and into the empty hallway

"I just need you to trust me, Viktor, this is dangerous, you need to stay out of it,"

Viktor pursed his lips, shaking his head quickly

"No way, I'm staying to help, Yuri whatever is going on, I can help,"

"You really can't, and I don't want you to get hurt," Yuri insisted, crossing his arms over his chest

"Viktor, please-"

"I know that guy," Viktor said suddenly, having noticed the sketch Stiles was currently holding up in the room behind them

Yuri glanced over his shoulder, eyes wide, before turning his attention back to Viktor

"You know him?"

"Yeah, that's the guy who asked Seto to find the Pharaoh, Seto still hasn't told him that he just so happens to be sleeping with this 'pharaoh' though,"

Yuri cursed under his breath, running back into the room, just in time to overhear part of a conversation between the others

"I mean his face shape is a little different, but he looks alot like Ryou, doesn't he?" Mila noted, hands on her hips

"Yeah... a little _too_ much like Ryou," Toni agreed with a tense frown

"I'm texting him now to ask what the fuck," Yura noted, hurrying to pull his phone out of his pocket

"Lydia, when you saw the theif killing someone, did you see what the victim looked like?"

"It doesn't work that way," she said softly

"I don't see clear visions like some sort of demented movie playing out, it's.. a mixture of all five senses sending off their own signals at once, sometimes the visions are clear but other times...."

"Right," Yuri said quietly, biting the inside of his lip before turning his attention to Stiles

"Call your boys, I'm calling Phichit and anyone else I can get ahold of, if you can get Jughead to bring his girlfreind, do it,"

"Sure but... what's with the 911 to everybody? You don't.... have some kinda feeling about who's going to die, do you?"

"More like an informed guess," Yuri replied quickly, pulling his phone from his pocket before turning to Viktor with concern

"Viktor, please, go-"

"I'm not going anywhere," Viktor frowned firmly, eyes narrowing

Yuri's shoulders sagged, partly from dissappointment, partly from resignation

It wasn't exactly a surprise that Viktor was so adamant, and although Yuri could try to push him to go home by virtue of being his dom...

That was incredibly sleezy and irresponsible, especially in such a new relationship

Even though he wanted Viktor to be safe, he couldn't just throw his weight around and try to force him to do things he didn't want to do, that went against the entire purpose of their relationship and powerplay in general

Yes it was Yuri's job to protect him, but damaging Viktor's trust in him wouldn't accomplish that, and what would hurt him worse in the end?

Stepping out of the room again, he pulled Viktor aside, staring up into those beautifull, concern-filled blue eyes, and feeling an ache in his chest from knowing what he was going to have to do

"Viktor..... I need you to go home because it isn't safe for you here, this isn't a safe situation to be in, I'm..... I'm not a safe person to be around,"

One eyebrow raised, but that was about it

Clearly Viktor wasn't buying it

"I'm with the yakuza," Yuri finally explained, waiting for the fallout

But... to his surprise, there didn't seem to be any

"Is that all?"

Blinking in surprise, Yuri searched for the words to come to him

...Too bad they didn't

"..Um....y-yes...?"

"Oh, ok, I'm still not going home though, clearly I can help in some manner and I intend to do so,"

Ah....

"Aren't you concerned at all? I just told you I was a mobster!"

Mob _boss_ but really, he should leave _some_ things for pillow talk

"I work for Seto Kaiba, do you really think a little organized crime is something that would bother me?"

....... _Well_.... he had a point.....

"Yuri, you could be a hitman and I still wouldn't care," Viktor promised with a soft chuckle, cupping Yuri's face and leaning down to give him a sweet, loving kiss

"I adore you, no matter what your job or hobbies are,"

Yuri smiled shyly, his heart fluttering, he felt like singing, or atleast letting his wings out for a quick ruffle, but he knew he couldn't do either of those things

"If you two are done with the disgusting shit, can we get on with some explanations already?" Yura huffed, leaning against the doorway in annoyance

"I _was_ going to bang my boyfreind before Scream Queen there let loose but now you've piqued my curiosity so you have to cough up the info,"

Yuri sighed, hating that yet another several innocent lives were involved in this, but... there wasn't exactly much he could do about it at the current moment....

"Right... let's all sit down, this is going to be a long talk..."

~+~

"What a clusterfuck," Yura muttered, rubbing his hands down his face and laying back on the bed

He had expected alot of things to come from having a BDSM club- it becoming a yakzua meeting place was definietly not one of those things though

Now he and Otabek were taking a breather in one of the other private rooms wile the yakuza and P.I. firm met nextdoor to discuss a gameplan, the local coven had come along too at the siren's request, and Mila and Sara found out with amusement that they were both dating members of the same coven

How fucking _cute_

Part of Yura wanted to go home, it wasn't like they needed him here after all, but the other part was morbidly curious to see how this entire story ended, and yet another part still felt that he _needed_ to stay, atleast until Ryou answered his phone

"No kidding," Otabek agreed quietly

"I'm glad it's a full moon," he added a second later, perking Yura's interest

"Why's that?"

"Derek went running earlier, I wouldn't want him involved in this, or any of them really... it's too late for Marik, since his sister runs the museum, but if atleast Derek and Kane can stay out of it, that'll be enough, Ii wouldn't want them getting hurt and they both have that... hero complex going, Kane luckily had a date..."

Yura cocked his head, running through the math in his head

Full moon + running = werewolf

Full moon + running + Derek = Derek is a werewolf

Meaning...

"Yeah, I get that, I guess it's too late to ask you to just have a blood-shot and go home then huh?" Yura teased, earning a slight smirk and a shake of Otabek's head

"And leave you here? No way, besides, I want to know that your pridemate is ok,"

Ah, that was probably as close to confirmation as he would get...

Good enough

"Thanks," Yura smiled awkwardly, sitting up a little to get a good look at his boyfreind

"You know... during times of crisis, it isn't totally uncommon to-"

_*Ping*_

DAMMIT

What was it about the universe that sensed he was about to propose having a quick romp and promptly decided to interrupt him AGAIN?!

With only mild reluctance, he pulled his phone out of his pocket and gave the new text a quick glance

_I'm with Bakura at his cabin, I'm fine_

Huh, kind of a short message for Ryou, but it seemed fine all the same...

"I'll be back in a second, I have to play messenger,"

"Is he ok?" Otabek asked with concern, rising to his feet right after Yura had rolled off the bed

"Evidently," the blonde shrugged back, crossing into the room nextdoor

"So it's settled then, Joey and Yugi will help guard Atem, the rest of us will look for the demon," Yuri announced

"How do you know it's a demon?" Yura asked curiously, head tilting as he stepped into the room

"I felt it, in the vision, I could feel the darkness," Lydia replied, now standing as well, what with the bed having been pushed out of the way to make room on the floor for whatever the witches were scribbling on the floor

Ugh... Yura was not looking forward to cleaning that up later...

"It shouldn't be too hard to use this spell to track his energy, now that you know what it feels like," Veronica, one of the witches, noted as she drew another line of what Yura _hoped_ was paint down the center of the carpet

Goddess... that was going to have to be professionally cleaned, wasn't it?

"Did you hear back from Ryou?" Mila asked suddenly, drawing Yura's attention away from the carpet damage

"Yeah, he said he's at the cabin with Bakura and that he was fine,"

"Bakura?" Viktor frowned, jerking his head up

"That's the name of the theif, the guy who hired Seto, his.. name is Bakura,"

"Why don't I feel like this is a coincidence?" Yuri frowned grimly

"But why would he involve himself with some random kinky kitty cat? No offense to kinky kitties in general," Cheryl- Toni's girlfreind, and the Head Preistess of the coven- pointed out

"Maybe _because_ he's random," Betty- one of the other witches- suggested

"Maybe he's looking to throw us off somehow,"

"Maybe.." Yuri muttered quietly, eyes narrowed

"Alright, everyone stick with the plan, you two go to the Kaiba manor to watch out for Atem, the rest of us will track down Bakura's energy signature and go from there, and you two," Yuri paused, turning to Otabek and Yura with a soft, if somewhat tired smile

"Please go home, you shouldn't be involved in all of this, I'd send Toni and Mila too but I get the feeling they're not going anywhere,"

"Not if you paid us," Mila chuckled

Yura, on the other hand, didn't have nearly as much interest in staying, now that he had heard from Ryou and had enough information to atleast temporarily satisfy his curiosity, the exhaustion from all of this was beginning to settle in, and the urge to go home and sleep it off, curled up into Otabek's embrace, was too much to resist

"Yeah... I think I'm gonna take you up on that, you up for it Beka?"

Otabek nodded, wrapping an arm around Yura's waist

"You guys sure you don't need us?"

"We're positive, but thank you for the offer," Yuri smiled back sweetly

With another nod, Otabek pulled Yura away from the scene, much to the neko's releif

Going home and having some time just to themselves sounded heavenly...

"I drove my bike here... you wanna ride it home?"

And the idea of being on Otabek's motercycle was even _better_

"Fuck yeah,"

~+~

"You realize, ofcourse, that I don't _need_ protection,"

"You realize, ofcourse, that I don't give a shit,"

Atem only exhaled loudly, leaning his cheek against his palm and watching in dissatisfaction as the brunette across from him checked his security system for atleast the fourth time in the last ten minutes

Atem wasn't sure if it was genuine concern for his well-being or just paranoia, not sure if he should feel fluttery-hearted from the fact that Seto clearly seemed to care for him or mildly pissed that he had been so willing to essentially hunt him down and sell him off in the first place

Oh well, he supposed it didn't really matter in the long-run, not like they could change the past

Sighing, Atem turned his attention to the other two who had come to protect him, offering them a warm smile

"So, a werewolf and a witch, what a lovely pair you must make,"

"Thank you, we actually are pretty new to eachother, we only met about a week ago," Yugi confessed as he finished setting up the card game they had decided to play

"Really? You seem so close though," Atem noted with surprise

When they had showed up at the door they had practically been glued to eachother, and after spending over an hour at the mansion, Atem had noticed all of the sweet, love-filled looks they kept giving eachother

"Werewolf relationships are just like that, we're pretty fast-paced, an' I knew the second I met Yug that he was the one for me," Joey noted, leaning back in the chair directly behind where Yugi was sitting on the floor

Atem could practically feel Seto's irritation radiating from across the small half-circle the four of them were sitting in, as he and the blonde had immediately gotten on like matches and gasoline, but Seto seemed to have little tolerance for most people, Atem was quickly learning

He didn't know why he seemed to be the exception to that rule, but somehow....

"Forgive me if this is too personal, but is it true what I hear about werewolves? The true mates thing?" he asked curiously as he began drawing cards from his deck

"What, ya' mean like some mystical magical connection that immediately tells us who our mates are? Nah, we just have a sorta... sixth sense I guess, for the people who're meant to be close with us in our lives, so I get why non-wolves would get that confused, but the magical part is just a myth,"

Atem nodded with interest, despite still sensing Seto's growing discomfort across from him

"Do you have similar sensations with your packmates?"

"Well, I probably would, if I _had_ packmates, but... I'm a lone wolf right now, kind of a long story,"

"Ah, I'm sorry to hear that," Atem frowned

"Nah it's fine, I've got freinds, an' Yug is a witch without a coven, so it's kinda like... I dunno, we fit I guess? Like we fill in eachother's blank spots,"

"That's a sweet way of looking at it,"

Atem wondered what it must be like to be alone when your very biology dictated the need for strong social bonds

He couldn't say he understood that urge, but.... he understood loneliness very well

Glancing over his shoulder at the impatient brunette behind him, he wondered if Seto felt that loneliness too, if perhaps they had somehow found eachother and filled eachother's blanks the same way Yugi and Joey had, dragons were never meant to be solitary creatures either, even though they didn't tend to have big packs or covens, most dragons still tended to have their own flights, usually consisting of blood relatives and relatives by marriage, but Seto....

All he had was his brother

"You're staring," the brunette pointed out blandly

"Yes, sorry," Atem said quickly, turning his attention back to the game and laying a card face down

Was that why Seto was so paranoid?

Because he was afraid of losing one of the only two people he had?

It made sense, dragons were possessive anyway, but wile Atem had previously been feeling like part of Seto's hoard, now...

Maybe it was much more than merely being a "treasure", an _object_ , maybe dragons felt more deeply than people outside the species realized...

The sound of a phone going off actually startled Atem, drawing his attention to Joey, who answered the call quickly

"Yo!"

Things were quiet for a few moments, and although Atem was trying to force himself to pay attention to the game, he couldn't help letting his attention stray back to the blonde

"Yeah ok, I hear ya', I'll do that, don't worry, tell Yuri we're in for the night, and you guys be carefull,"

Atem tensed as Joey hung up the phone, even though the phone call didn't sound _bad_ , he was still anxious to hear the news, whatever it may be

"That was Stiles, he said they've got the signature an' are headin' out to get the bastard now, 'parently he's off in a cabin like two hours from here with his boyfreind, so we can relax a little, but we're still on guard 'till the yakuza actually have their hands on the guy,"

"Good," Atem exhaled with releif

"If we can relax a bit, then would you please excuse me for a moment? I'm going to take a breath of air before sunrise,"

"I'll go with you," Seto said immediately, moving to his feet

"No, please, I just... need a moment alone,"

"Not a chance," the dragon frowned tensely

"Seto I'm stepping outside for less than a minute, please, I won't even go past the front porch,"

Seto's eyes narrowed, but with reluctance, he sat back down, pulling out his phone and showing Atem a timer that, for some reason, he already had pulled up

"Less than a minute,"

Atem rolled his eyes, but muttered an agreement and took off

He thought this was supposed to be protective custody, not _prison_

He hoped the suffocating overprotectiveness would fade once this guy was out of the picture...

With the door closed behind him, Atem hurried to the edge of the porch and took a few deep, clean breaths, eager for the feeling of the night air flooding his lungs as he allowed himself to relax, his wings spreading out behind him in bright golden glory as he gripped the railing and closed his eyes

One breath, then another

On the third, just as he was preparing to go back in, he felt something wrap around his nose and mouth, eyes shooting open and fire brimming at the edges of his wings, but before he could attempt to fight back, an incredible drowsiness took over him, and he sank to the ground, blacking out

~+~

"You know you don't have to do this,"

"Yeah.. I kind of do," Yuri said with a quiet sigh, putting the car in park and turning his attention to Viktor, eyebrows raised

"I can help!"

"He's a _demon_ Viktor, faery magic won't have much effect,"

"But siren magic _will_?"

"Sure, when coupled with guns full of holy water bullets,"

...Damn, Yuri actually had a pretty good point...

Not that Viktor was at all happy with this development though

"I know you want to help, and if you _really_ want to be part of the yakuza, I'll train you, but this isn't the time for someone with no combat abilities to run half-cocked into a situation, ok? So please... just go inside and spend the night with Seto and the others, I'll be back for you in a few hours,"

 _Goddess willing_ , but he kept that part to himself

"And I'll have a surprise for you too," he added a second later

After all, Yuri had asked Veronica for a favor long before her coven ended up involved in this entire ordeal, and that favor was ready to pay off

"Fine," Viktor sighed, cupping Yuri's face

"Just promise you'll return to me,"

"You have my word," Yuri smiled warmly, pressing forward to kiss Viktor goodbye

However, before Viktor could open the car door and get out, something caught his eye

"Stay here," Yuri instructed suddenly, undoing his seatbelt and hurrying out of the car, running to the gate and peering through the bars

_"ATEM!!!!"_

_"Atem?! Are you here!?"_

Shit....

They lost him...?

How had they lost him?!

Gritting his teeth, Yuri yanked his jacket off and tossed it to the hood of the car, taking a deep breath as he allowed his wings to burst from his back, the shimmering black feathers ripping through the back of his shirt as he jumped off of the ground, wings beating against the air as he easily flew over the gate

Soaring into the yard, he landed elegantly by the fountain, right in front of the furious dragon, who was seemingly in mid-shift, scales peppered his face and hands, his teeth had shifted into sharp fangs, eyes blazing blue and pupils slitted like a reptile's, a breath of blue flames slipped out of his mouth as he snapped his jaws shut, he looked like he was ready to tear Yuri limb from limb, and honestly, Yuri understood the feeling, though that didn't stop his own primal senses from prickling at the air of danger in front of him, feathers starting to spread under his clothes, nails shifting to claws and feet forming talons inside his shoes, his own fangs dropping in place of his more human looking teeth, he was keeping most of the shift at bay, but if Seto let his wings loose...

"Tell me you know where he is," Seto snarled, flames huffing out again

For someone with such a cold personality, he certainly had a hot temper...

"As I recall that was your job," Yuri snipped back, his feathers rustling with unease

"As _I_ recall he's in this mess because of you so I'd be carefull where you point your finger Tweety Bird,"

" _Excuse me_? In what way is this my fault?" Yuri huffed back, feathers starting to blossom down his spine

"You're with the yakuza, you can't possible be stupid enough to think this is a coincidence,"

" _You_ more or less sold him out without even knowing him, I'd be carefull where _you_ point _your_ finger,"

" _Really_ guys? We're arguing?"

Viktor's soft, accented voice caught Yuri's attention, his gaze shifting to the sky as the faery fluttered closer, practically snatching the breath out of Yuri's lungs

He was even more beautifull in his true form...

His wings were transluscent, with ice at their tips and snowflake patterns running along the veins, his hair was like strands of pure silver, no longer cropped short, but now flowing all the way down his back, and Yuri could practically _smell_ the magic dripping off of him, like the scent of iced air and freshly fallen snow, tinged with the indescribable quality of raw Fae energy...

It was intoxicating....

Yuri exhaled slowly, his own more frightening traits beginning to receed as the sense of danger that had sparked them was replaced with the sensations of wonder and adoration

"Beautifull..." he exhaled, his wings fluttering on their own accord

Viktor smiled warmly at him, his pale face tinged pink

"So are you,"

"Can we save this sap fest for later?" Seto growled, though Viktor's presence seemed to bleed atleast a little tension out of even him

Yuri wondered absently if that was the real reason he kept Viktor shackled at his side, faeries were well known for having soothing energy- when they weren't angry atleast- and just being near them often brought out the better emotions in people, was Viktor some sort of anger management perhaps?

Not that it made the situation any better, but it atleast offered a better explanation than Seto simply wanting a work buddy...

"What happened? Where's Atem?" Yuri frowned, finally getting his mind back on the emergency at hand

"We don't know," Yugi said as he caught up behind Seto, Joey rushing by his side

"He stepped out for air for less than a minute and just vanished,"

"I knew I shouldn't have let him out of my sight," Seto huffed, flames flowing between his teeth

"As opposed to what? Keepin' 'im locked up to yourself? Dude, ya' can't do that, he's a person, not a pet,"

"One can be both," Seto grumbled, glaring at Joey over his shoulder

"And I wasn't suggesting putting him in a cage you mutt, I meant I should have gone outside with him, also if you ever call me 'dude' again I'll rip your throat out with my teeth,"

"...Where have I heard that before?" Viktor muttered, mostly to himself

"Can we save all the arguing for later? _Please_?" Yugi huffed, rubbing his face in exhaustion

"Look, I know Atem's energy signature, I'll track him, we'll find him, it'll be ok,"

Yuri tensed his jaw, fingers curling into his sleeves

He hoped Yugi was right....

"If Bakura took Atem then that means Ryou is just a distraction, I'll call the others,"

He wasn't sure how much good it would do, they were already an a fair ways out of town, but...

"No," Seto said suddenly, eyes narrowing

"Let them finish getting the cat, we'll get Atem ourselves, I won't be delayed,"

Yuri pursed his lips, he knew that was a highly dangerous decision- for far more reasons than one- but...

"Alright, let's get started then,"

~+~

The sound of the window opening is what ultimately woke Yura, his ears twitching and his tail curling as his eyes slid open

Otabek's arms were still curled tightly around him, so who was opening the window...?

 _Who was opening the window_?

Springing reflexively into action, he jumped across the bed, his lithe body colliding with a wall of muscles, wich soon were slammed into the wall behind them, claws swiping against the face of the intruder

" _Shit!_ "

"Who are you assfuck and why are you in my bedroom!?" the neko hissed, drawing his hand back to swipe again, only for his wrist to be swallowed by the hand of the intruder

"It.. isn't _your_ bedroom, it's _Otabek's_ -!"

"Derek..?"

Turning at the sound of Otabek's voice, Yura's shoulders sagged, watching his boyfreind sit up in bed

"Yes, I see you got yourself an attack-cat," the other brunette winced, one hand still curled around Yura's wrist, the other lightly touching his face as blood shimmered in the moonlight and came away on his fingertips

"Well you're the one who just came in through the window like some motherfucking creep! Who the fuck sneaks into people's houses through their windows?!"

"It's a time honored tradition," the werewolf huffed, finally letting go of Yura's wrist

"He's... kind of right, sorry Yura, I... didn't think of it earlier..." Otabek confessed, now having climbed out of bed and gently picked Yura up to remove him from where he had still been tensely wrapped around the werewolf

"..Are you fucking serious Altin!?"

"It's a long story but yes, the four of us... kind of have a habbit of visiting eachother through the windows, look, can we talk about that later?"

"Oh sure, we'll talk wile I recover from my stroke," Yura grumbled back, slowly sitting down on the edge of the bed

Apparently no one found that answer too amusing, considering that the brunettes went straight into a conversation of their own

"What's with the six A.M. visit?" Otabek blurted out, blunt as per usual

"I can't find Stiles, I keep calling his cell phone but he's not answering,"

"He went to rescue Yura's pridemate, it's kind of a long story," Otabek replied simply

"I've been calling for hours," Derek pointed out sourly

"That makes sense, we last saw him around four, maybe he's had his phone off since then,"

If that was meant to placate Derek, it wasn't working

"I don't like how this feels, Kane and I are going after him, we wondered if you knew where he went,"

"Sorry, we didn't stick around for the tracking spell," Otabek sighed, rubbing the back of his neck

"It's fine, Kane's girlfreind is Kryptonian, she can probably track him down, we just... wanted a head start if we could get one, and if super senses don't work, their _other_ girlfreind can just track his phone,"

Yura wanted to say "If he still _has_ his phone" but stopped himself short, knowing that wouldn't help anything and would only cause the werewolf to stick around longer and prevent them even longer from sleeping

"Marik is gone too though, ofcourse we know that sometimes he pulls a Houdini but given the circumstances..."

"I'll check on him," Otabek promised

Derek nodded slowly, breathing a quiet "Thank you" before turning to Yura, only giving a polite nod of acknowledgement, before vanishing out the window again

Yura shook his head slowly, rubbing his face

"Sooo.... guess I have to put on more than panties and a tank top now huh?"

"Why? You don't have to come with me, I'm just stopping by the museum,"

"I don't care if I _have_ to or not, I'm going to, so live with it,"

That may have been his way of saying that he _wanted_ to go- or more specifically, that he didn't want to stay there alone

Atleast Otabek seemed to be understanding of that though, nodding in agreement as he headed to his closet

"In that case then, yes, more than just panties and a tank top,"

~+~

"You think someone's been kidnapped?"

"Yes, we have very good reason to believe that,"

For his credit, the blonde at the front desk looked considerably shocked by this information, and much to Phichit's releif, he didn't need any further convincing to rip a spare key off of the wall behind him and race out of the main office, Phichit and the others following quickly after him, each of them preparing for a fight

The werewolves were already starting to shift, the witches had their magic at the ready, even the incubus innkeeper had horns starting to show from beneath his blonde and black hair

Without so much as a word, the innkeeper slipped the key into the lock and threw the door open..... only to find that there was only one inhbaitant of the room, and it definitely wasn't the demon they were looking for

"Ryou!!" Toni shouted in releif, she and Mila letting go of their girlfreinds' hands and running forward to crash into the other neko, hugging him tightly

"O-Oh.. hello, this is a lovely surprise, what brings you two here?" Ryou asked obliviously

"What.... what do you mean? Weren't you kidnapped?" Mila asked in confusion

" _Kidnapped_? Heavens no, what ever gave you that idea?"

The group exchanged looks, beginning to let go of their battle-ready positions, as Toni started to explain what had been happening

"Your boyfreind isn't who he says he is, and your texts have just been so strange these last few days..."

"Texts?" Ryou frowned in confusion

"I... haven't sent any texts, Bakura said that you all offered me a week off when he told you,"

"Told us what?" Mila asked with slight hesitation

"That I'm pregnant,"

For a moment, just a moment, everything was silent, before-

"The energy signature... _that's_ what we sensed," Stiles said slowly

"Not Bakura, but... his _child_..."

"Meaning that Bakura is still out there," Phichit hissed, hurriedly pulling his phone out of his pocket and cursing when he saw that there was no signal

"Do you have a landline we can use?" he asked quickly, turning to look at the innkeeper

"As a matter of fact I do, fill me in on the insanity on our way back to the lobby?"

"You got it," Phichit agreed, running out of the cabin with the blonde behind him

"I'm Phichit, by the way, thanks for all your help,"

"Chris, and please believe me, it's my pleasure, things get awfully boring around here, this is the most fun I've had in a long time,"

"If you think this is fine then you need to get out more," Phichit teased, earning a smirk from the other man

"Perhaps when all of this is over then, you can help me with that,"

~+~

The doors to the museum were open when they got there

Otabek and Yura exchanged an anxious look as they walked inside, following the sound of voices that echoed through the building

They locked their hands together, each apparently of the same opinion that they needed to stay quiet as they tip-toed through the dark hallways, towards the sound of the voices

_"Why are you doing this? What do you want with Atem?"_

That was Yuri's voice...

Pausing, the two glanced at eachother once more

Incidentally, despite trying to avoid it, they had somehow both ended up stepping right into the center of this mess

 _"Simple, I want his power,"_ replied an unfamiliar voice as the two began walking again, now taking even more care to stay quiet

 _"You do know what he is, don't you?"_ the stranger's voice prompted

 _"What does it matter?"_ came another unrecognizable voice, this one a bit lower, a little more raspy, the response snarled out

_"Oh dear dragon, you really have no idea? All this time... you've had a **pheonix** in your bed,"_

_"So what if he's a pheonix? What does that have to do with anything?"_ Yuri's voice cut through again

 _"Oh... now I understand, you don't know what this tablet actually **does**.... do you?"_ replied the stranger

_"It's a summoning tablet,"_

The burst of dark, manic laughter that echoed through the building sent chills up Yura's spine, prompting him to clutch Otabek's hand tighter as they walked, finally rounding the corner that allowed them to peer into the massive exhibit hall

They stayed in the shadows, wanting to keep themselves hidden wile observing the scene

Atem was chained down to a large stone table, likely one of the exhibit displays, with that Bakura guy standing beside it, Viktor and Yuri were a few feet away, both seemingly ready for a fight, with three others behind them who Yura couldn't immediately identify

No sign of Marik though...

"Fool, is that what the Ishtars told you? No, this isn't a summoning tablet, it's a _transferrance_ tablet, with this magic, I can drain the so-called pharaoh of his power and absorb it, becoming a pheonix myself, and with this amulet I acquired several months ago, I can keep my memory in tact each time I'm reborn, granting me-"

"Immortality," Yuri concluded quietly

"Pseudo immortality, for now, but I'm sure that will change soon enough, I'll have ten thousand years to search for _real_ immortality after all, once I become a pheonix,"

"And why would you want immortality?! It's a _curse_ , not a _blessing_!" Atem shouted from the table

"To you, perhaps, because when you eventually _do_ die for the final time in your cycle, you'll move on to paradise- Heaven, Aaru, whatever you want to call it, I however won't be granted such a privlege, wile you can experience an eternity of peace with those you love and incarnate again into another vessel, once a demon dies, we become _nothing_ , the soul is immortal, unless you're a demon, so I really don't want anything special, _Pharaoh_ , only to experience the same immortality everyone else is granted by nature!"

"I have a question," Viktor said slowly

"Why did you hire Seto to bring Atem to you? Why go after a CEO instead of a private detective or even yakzua?"

"Mm, interesting thing about pheonixes, each time they're reborn, their soul's energy signature changes, just slightly, just enough that they can't be tracked... but it's _only_ applicable to pheonixes," Bakura mused

"I almost had my hands on this bird once before but he got away, however I knew him long enough to recognize the soul signatures of his lovers, who, a hundred years later, just so happened to reincarnate as well,"

"And let me guess, I'm one of them?" the dragon snipped, clearly unimpressed

"Correct, as I'm sure you know, when soulmates find eachother, there tends to be some... recgonition there, a fondness that will never fade, I couldn't be sure that you would find eachother but if you did I knew you would stay together, once I had the amulet I started searching for your signature, and imagine my glee when I found that in this life you had become a greedy and arrogant CEO, I knew that for the right price you would do anything I asked without question and if by some chance you fell in love with your old mate again then all I would have to do to find _him_ is follow _you_ , no matter wich path you followed- that of my prompting or of your own free will, you would have lead me to him,"

A smirk on his face, Bakura's gaze shifted to the witch and werewolf at Seto's side

"You two were far less reliable, too much integrity, you would have asked too many questions if I prompted you to find the mysterious pharaoh so I avoided you,"

"How did you know he went by The Pharaoh if you didn't know who he was?" the witch frowned

"A lucky guess, he was a writer in his previous life and used the name 'Pharaoh' as part of his penname, pheonixes lose their memories when they're reborn, but they always keep one key trait, I knew from his former life that he had been around for a few thousand years already and thought 'Pharaoh' was strangely unique as a penname, especially for twentieth century London, I took an educated guess and it seems to have paid off,"

"I won't let you get away with this," Yuri snarled, eyes narrowing as he discretely reached for his belt, drawing his gun slowly without breaking eye contact

With a quick breath, he began to sing, his voice low and deep and ethereal, even Yura and Otabek could feel the effect of the song settling in their bones, despite not being the ones the song was directed at

It was something.... _otherworldly_....

Something that made them want to quake to their nees, and yet...

"Did you really think that little song would have any impact on me?!" the demon cackled, reaching into the inside of his coat and drawing a throwing dagger

Before Yuri had any hopes of dodging it, the blade peirced through his throat, nocking him to the floor, his gun falling from his hand and skittering across the floor

"YURI!!!" Viktor screamed, crouching to the ground and placing his hands over the wound, cold white energy flowing out of his fingertips as he worked to heal the wound and remove the blade in enough coordination that he wouldn't freeze the blade into Yuri's throat or pull it out too soon and cause him to bleed out

It was a delicate balance...

"Bastard!" Seto snarled, inhaling, clearly about to breathe fire, but before he had the chance to exhale-

"I wouldn't do that if I were you my reptilian freind," Bakura chuckled, his own gun drawn now... and pointed at Viktor

"I loaded iron bullets into this gun, you may think your firepower is strong but is it faster than a speeding bullet? Will you be able to fry me to a crisp before I blow your faery freind into pixie dust? I doubt it, and just in case anyone else is thinking I haven't counted on their presence, I also have wolfsbane, Mountain Ash, and Witch Hazel, and I brought along vervain too just in case the jackal's little bat freinds try to stage a rescue effort,"

So he _did_ have Marik somewhere then...

"There is _nothing_ I haven't thought of and if that little parakeet tries to get up again, next time, I'll use _silk_ and rip out those thrumming little vocal chords permanantely!"

No... Bakura was wrong about that

Not about the silk, but about having counted on _everyone_ \- there was one person he hadn't counted on

_Yura_

This bastard had taken Ryou and done God-knows-what with him, he would have to pay for that

"Do you trust me?" Yura wispered, earning a nod from Otabek

"Then I need you to do me a favor- distract him,"

Otabek frowned, an eyebrow raising

"What?"

"Distract him, the yakuza was pulling a gun when he got stabbed, whatever it's loaded with has to be able to take out a demon or else why would he have bothered? The gun is just a few feet away, I can get it, and I can end this,"

Otabek seemed hesitant, but as a dim golden light began to emmit from the tablet across the room and the sounds of chanting started echoing through the exhibit hall, the vampire seemed to realize how few choices he had

Nodding with reluctance, he cupped Yura's face and gave him a breif but desperate kiss before slinking out of the shadows

Otabek may not have been the strongest vampire, but he was definitely fast, so he atleast had that going for him

"Where is Marik?" he asked loudly, emerging from the shadows and successfully drawing Bakura's attention

"Ah, I suppose you didn't hear my little speech," the demon noted, setting his gun back in it's holster before removing another on his other side

"I suggest you fly away little bat, these bullets are filled with vervain,"

Yura, meanwile, had to force himself not to pay much mind to the two of them, instead using his cat-like quietness to tip-toe out of the shadows and reach forward with his tail, trying to keep as much of himself obscured from sight as possible, as he picked up the gun and pulled it closer to himself

Clearly no one else had noticed it, and with Yuri still being unable to speak due to the blade in his throat, he couldn't have told them about it either

Perks of having only observed this thing from behind them all, Yura supposed, dropping the chunk of metal into his hands

He had no real experience with guns, but he figured that if he was close enough he wouldn't need it

He crept along the wall, catching Otabek's gaze as the vampire skillfully moved along the opposite side, forcing Bakura to turn in time with him and putting the demon's back to the neko

_Perfect_

In total silence, Yura crept closer, his heart pounding as he aimed the gun, slotted his finger against the trigger, and squeezed....

_But missed_

Fear pooled through him as the loud BANG of the gun went off and Bakura quickly turned around, snarling as he raised his own gun to Yura and fired

Pain shot through the blonde's chest as he collapsed backwards to the floor, a loud scream peircing the room as he watched Otabek latch his teeth onto the demon's neck, blood spraying everywhere as Yura's vision started to go blurry and fade out

He could hear people calling his name...

But damn, he couldn't stay awake long enough to make out who they were....

~+~

Yura woke with a gasp, jerking upwards and blinking, trying to get himself centered as he looked up, eyes immediately landing on Otabek's

The brunette's steely coffee gaze was familiar and safe, it gave him cause to exhale even when everything felt so uncertain around him

"Welcome back," he said softly, reaching out to curl his hand around Yura's, squeezing softly

"Thanks," the neko breathed, only then starting to notice the other people around them

That was when the memories started to slam back into him, like a giant truck running him over, he instinctively put a hand over his chest, searching for a bullet wound, only to watch Otabek shake his head

"It's alright, Yugi managed to get the vervain out of your system,"

"Vervain? Why the fuck would I care about that? That only effects vamp-... _oh_..."

The look on Otabek's face answered the question that Yura hadn't managed to quite finish asking

He moved his finger over his teeth, searching for fangs, much to Otabek's apparent amusement

The wound must have been too great to possibly heal if Otabek had bitten him...

"I'm sorry, for turning you without your consent I mean,"

"Oh don't apologize, it's not like you really had a choice if you were saving my life right? Besides, this is fucking cool!! I'm a vamp-cat!!"

"More like a vampkitten,"

Glancing over his shoulder, Yura's nose wrinkled at Cheryl's smirking face, his tail swishing in annoyance

"We're just glad that you're ok," Toni added with a relieved smile

"Yeah... when'd you guys get here? How long have I even been out?"

"About an hour, we got here around fifteen minutes ago,"

"And.. Bakura?"

"Gone,"

Turning his attention towards the voice, Yura felt an odd sensation of releif at seeing Yuri apparently healed up well enough to talk, though with Viktor's arm wrapped protectively around his shoulders and the faery's jacket draped over him, his partner was clearly not taking the matter of his healing very lightly

"Gone as in.... dead?"

Yuri nodded simply, likely trying to conserve his voice, even if he was healed, Yura imagined his throat was probably sore...

"Well where's the corpse?"

"Vanished," Seto replied simply, his arms crossed over his chest

"I'm not exactly surprised though, demon bodies often turn to ash or smoke and dissappear once the demon is dead,"

Yura just nodded, exhaling as he started climbing to his feet, only to turn his attention to the pheonix who was standing uncomfortably beside him, the neko's eyebrows raising with curiosity

"Please... allow me to apologize for all the trouble I've caused," Atem said quietly, bowing his head

"What-... you didn't cause shit, you had a maniac coming after you, that's not your fault," Yura frowned

"No but it's still something you wouldn't have had to experience if it were not for me,"

"That's-"

"Please, it's our fault as well,"

Turning around, Yura frowned at the jackal siblings who stepped forward

"I suppose we should have told you from the beginning what the tablet was truly capable of," Ishizu added a second later

"Yeah... why _did_ ya' keep that secret anyway?" Joey asked in confusion

"Our species has a bad history, even with other members of the supernatural world, we were hunted nearly to extinction a few thousand years ago, but not all jackals were _killed_ , that tablet was developed by a preist many millenia ago, back in the days of the pharaohs, who thought our kind were demons, the tablet was used to 'exorcise' us of our powers and transfer them to small animals or prisoners that could be killed without thousands of innocent lives being slaughtered, some of who even served in the royal courts, that was how jackals began losing our numbers, the Roman invasion brought slaughter with it and decemated he rest of us, but over time we've recovered tablets like this one and destroyed them, I had planned on destroying this one as well but... Bakura found it before I could safely do so,"

"That's why there were no records of it, you wanted to keep the tablet and it's powers a secret so it couldn't be used against you," Stiles concluded

"Yes, and you of all people should be able to understand that,"

Stiles bristled, but kept his mouth shut, Yuri's eyes narrowing in seemingly similar annoyance, but he didn't comment on it either

Yura wondered why

Was there something more going on with the birds in the room or..?

"What about Ryou? Is he ok?"

"He's fine, Veronica stayed with him at the cabin, she and The Little Merman are with him," Cheryl hummed, tossing her hair

Yura wanted to ask but-.... actually no, on second thought, he didn't give a shit

"There.... _is_ something we have to tell you about him though," Mila noted slowly, wich had a sick sensation settling in Yura's gut

Otabek squeezed his hand, and Yura squeezed tighter

Whatever news was coming, he knew he could handle it as long as he had Otabek beside him

~+~

**Three months later...**

"What do you MEAN Veronica Lodge is half vampire now?!?!"

"It was a terrible attack, Archie is pissed," Cheryl noted, pausing to hum to herself

"I still can't believe that little merman beau of her's had a one-night stand with Marik Ishtar a few months back...."

"That's not my point!! Being a vampire hybrid is MY thing!! How dare Veronica fucking Lodge take that from me!?!" Yura screamed, clearly rerouting the subject back to his own personal main point

"You do realize that she was _attacked_ right?" Toni asked blandly

"In _no way_ was this her decision,"

"But still!!"

Yura's eyes were red, his fangs dropped and his tail swishing in annoyance, only to melt back into placation as Otabek started scratching behind his ear

"....Anyway, she wanted to talk to you about joining your nest Beka," Toni noted a second later

"Fine with me, I'll talk to my sisters tonight, you cool with it Kane?"

Kate only gave a thumb's up from her position across the garage, her other hand busy trying to finish twisting a bolt into place

"By the way, why do you guys call her Kane? I've always wondered..."

"Well, Derek has a bad past with some huntress bitch named Kate, not my story to tell but he kinda tensed up whenever we said Kane's name in the beginning, she's the one who suggested going by her last name actually," Marik mused as he walked by with a box of tools

"As long as no one calls me Katherine," Kate called, grabbing a rag to wipe her hands on

"I think you're safe from that," Toni chuckled, turning her attention back to Yura

"Speaking of names, I picked up a baby name book for Ryou, wanna toss around some suggestions at work later?"

"Guess so, Beka and I are going to lunch in ten minutes, I'll be at the club after, is Mila already there?"

"Yeah I think so, she and Sara had an early lunch with Lydia and Allison so she's probably already done,"

Yura nodded, stretching a little and leaning back against Otabek as his boyfreind worked on a bike

"We're going to go on though, we're shopping for a house-warming gift for Viktor and Yuri before we grab food," Toni added a second later

Yura groaned, eyes rolling

"I can't believe those two fucks are already moving in together..."

"Why? Because you're the king of speedy relationships?" Cherly teased

Yura only flipped her off, not even caring- or atleast trying not to care

True he and Otabek practically lived at appartment now but atleast they had the decency not to make it official yet

Yet, as much as he may act the opposite, he had to admit that he was actually... kind of happy for them

He would just never say it out loud

~+~

"Really Mr. Kaiba? Don't you think the yakuza are a bit... _much_?"

"No actually, I think they go with the carpet," Seto replied blandly

Viktor had to struggle not to slap his hand against his head over that

As if that joke wasn't bad enough, the carpet was _blood red_ , because Seto Kaiba didn't know the word "subtle"

That was ok though, part of his "charm" Viktor supposed

He was just glad that he didn't have to be here day in and day out anymore

After the incident with Bakura, Yuri had come to him with a spell to free him from the binds Seto had around him, though the dragon deemed it unnecessary, told him to keep it as a failsafe in case Viktor ever slipped again and got in another bind, instead he released the faery himself

Yuri said that he suspected, after getting to know Seto a little better, that wile the dragon's initial capture of Viktor had been selfish, his keeping of the faery over all these years had been due to an ill-planned attempt at keeping Viktor safe, with Seto having grown fond of him

Viktor would like to believe that, after seeing how overprotective and suffocating Seto could be with his boyfreinds, it made considerable sense that he might have gotten that way for the sake of "protecting" Viktor... or simply not wanting Viktor to leave him

It worked out well in the end though

Viktor decided to join the yakuza, who Seto now regularly employed, and worked at Yuri's New Age shop whenever mob business wasn't needed

He found it worked alot better for him than the stiffling corporate world Seto had been trying to force him into, and sharing so much of his life with Yuri...... it was _exhilerating_

"Cut the crap Weaver, do we have a deal or not?" Seto snipped, drawing Viktor's attention away from his thoughts and back to the issue at hand

The man across from them smirked, eyes sparkling with a type of mischeif that made goosebumps rise on Viktor's skin- and not in a good way

"Yes," the older man replied, grinning from ear to ear

"We have a deal,"

~+~

"What do you think Ryou?"

Smiling softly, Ryou turned away from the shelf he was stocking and stared at the Duel Monsters themed onesie Yugi was showing him

"Adorable,"

His pridemates had reasoned that working at a BDSM club wile pregnant probably wasn't the best idea, so Yugi had happily offered him a position at the game shop instead

It was quiet and non-stressfull and Ryou enjoyed all of the games and figurines and the general atmosphere, but...

He hadn't been happy in months

Bakura may have had the wrong methods to acheiving his goal, but was his goal really so bad in it's self?

He had been the first person to really _see_ Ryou, to understand him, in ways his pridemates certainly couldn't, and Ryou missed that

They hadn't had alot of time together admittedly, but Ryou still longed for him....

"Oh, there's a delivery, I'll be back in a second," Yugi noted off-handedly, hearing the delivery bell from the back of shop and rushing off

Ryou, meanwile, sighed quiely, his shoulders sagging as he stared down at the cards in front of him

He wished he didn't long for Bakura this way, but...

"Welcome to Kame Games," he said distractedly when he heard the bell over the door ring

But when he heard nothing else, he looked up... and promptly dropped the packs of cards he had been holding

"Bakura...."

"Hello kitten," Bakura smirked, tilting his sunglasses down as he stared across the store at the other man

"You didn't _really_ think I would leave you now did you?"

"I.... I thought you were dead..."

"Yes well, just a rumor I'm afraid, don't just stand there now, I have a train to catch,"

"A train?" Ryou asked curiously, already walking towards him

"Yes, I have a new plan to get what I want, will you join me?" he asked, extending his hand

Ryou didn't even have to hesitate, taking Bakura's hand and allowing the demon to pull him out of the shop

"What's your plan?" he asked curiously, following Bakura to his motercycle

"Well it's a bit of a long story, but tell me, have you ever heard of The Dark One?"

**Author's Note:**

> -"Lion" by G-Idle, the first song Yuri was singing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6oanIo_2Z4Q  
> -"Oh My God" by G-Idle, the second song Yuri was singing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=om3n2ni8luE  
> -"Wildest Dreams" by Taylor Swift, the song Atem was singing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IdneKLhsWOQ  
> -"Werewolf" by Fiona Apple, Stiles' ringtone for Joey: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fby632bPn0E  
> -"Hungry Like The Wolf" by Duran Duran, Stiles' ringtone for Jughead: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJL-lCzEXgI  
> -"Dangerous Woman" by Ariana Grande, the third song Yuri sings: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9WbCfHutDSE
> 
> All the bit about silk and sirens is a nod to Lucy Camui's "A Siren's Call"! https://archiveofourown.org/series/1416526
> 
> Jughead being a werewolf and Veronica being a vampire are nods to "Jughead: The Hunger" and "Vampironica", from the Archie horror imprints


End file.
